KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 30 — The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has no cause to declare the Uber and GrabCar mobile applications as illegal, a deputy minister said today amid protests by taxi drivers claiming loss of business due to competition from the ride-sharing services.

Communications and Multimedia Deputy Minister Datuk Jailani Johari said the MCMC is not the agency that issues approval for any form of land transportation service, which he said falls under the ambit of the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD).

“The permits are not even issued by MCMC, so it cannot simply act to close (the apps) unless there is a request from SPAD,” he told Parliament when winding up points raised during the committee stage debate of Budget 2016.

“We cannot block any application that has not or is not clear to have broken any laws,” Jailani said, adding that the MCMC will help to delist the applications only if there is a request from SPAD.

Pokok Sena MP Datuk Mahfuz Omar claimed when interjecting that the operators of the Uber and GrabCar apps have clearly gone against the country’s laws, as both services use cars that are not approved for use as taxis by the federal government.

He said Malaysia should follow the example of Spain in outlawing the use Uber, and that of the UK and Australia that are considering the same move, claiming that Uber and GrabCar drivers are foreigners and could expose customers to possible robbery or even blackmail.

“Say, for example, Tan Sri uses Uber, the car that comes is not a taxi but a regular car and the driver is a beautiful woman,” Mahfuz said, referring to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia who was chairing the debate.

“You cannot sit behind, you must sit in front. Then people will see this and take pictures, and when Tan Sri gets home, Puan Sri will not open the door,” he said, eliciting laughter from the House and prompting Pandikar to tell the PAS lawmaker to use PKR’s Bukit Katil MP Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin instead to illustrate his claim of possible blackmail.

Hundreds of taxi drivers gathered at Padang Merbok on November 18 before marching onto Parliament to demand that Putrajaya ban ride-sharing services Uber and GrabCar, claiming that they have lost significant business since its introduction.

The group of about 500 cabbies also called for Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) to implement more stringent regulation to prevent illegal taxis, some even going so far as to demand the resignation of Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar for not protecting the rights of taxi drivers.