KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 — Two government parliamentarians today suggested that the government provided incentives to conventional taxi drivers affected by the e-hailing services.

Datuk Nawawi Ahmad (BN-Langkawi) said a RM300 incentive was in line with the subsistence allowance given to fishermen who experienced a decline in income during a certain season (of the year).

"I ask the government to think about giving a RM300 incentive as that given to fishermen as the taxi drivers seek the same income, fishermen go out to sea to find fish, and taxi drivers on the road to find passengers, so if the fisherman can get RM300 a month, why not a taxi driver, "he said when debating the address of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, in the Dewan Rakyat here.

Nawawi also said the government had to regulate the prices of e-hailing services so that the services could compete in a healthy manner with conventional taxis.

He said ‘e-hailing’ services like Uber were found to have lower fares compared to conventional taxis causing the income of conventional taxi drivers to drop.

Meanwhile, the proposal was also agreed by Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin (BN-Padang Besar).

"I agree that (conventional) taxi drivers be given a one off special assistance to help them ease their burden due to their declining income,” he said. — Bernama