KOTA KINABALU, Sept 30 — Sabah Umno Youth said today they want the federal government to expedite the legalisation of ride-sharing service application Uber.
Its deputy treasurer Faez Nordin said that they spoke as concerned consumers in supporting the legalising of Uber services, and at the same time asked for local taxi drivers to improve their performance and provide viable transportation services in the state.
“We hope that this issue of Uber drivers will be seen as positive development by all parties and be thought of as healthy competition especially in moving forwards in a challenging era of globalisation,” he said.
His statement comes in the wake of two local drivers who were this week arrested at a shopping mall and are currently out on police bail while they await their court date.
Chief police chief assistant commissioner M. Chandra said that police were cracking down on the illegal service, referring to them as “pirate taxis”.
Faez said that the political wing had many reasons for supporting the ride sharing app and why it was prefered by users.
“It is cheaper by up to three times here in the city and more superior in service. It is also more accessible to the passenger because it is not easy to go out and hail a taxi here, but users can wait indoors while they wait for their booking,” he said.
Faez said it was also safer compared to regular taxis as the driver and vehicle details are provided in the app and there was strict restrictions on the cars used by drivers which often surpass older taxi cars.
“We also noticed that Uber is very community driven as (it) involves the youth of Sabah from all backgrounds.
“As Umno youth, we are very proud of youths for getting into this business during their spare time instead of doing something else more frivolous. It is a good source of income that can lessen the burden of increasing living costs as well,” he said, adding that the service has tapped into new markets and provided a viable alternative for the lower income groups as well as students.
“It is time the taxis in the state improve in terms of quality and safety. It is obvious that passengers want safer, more comfortable cars at a reasonable price. We believe that taxis will be able to be good competition if they can improve,” he said.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Nancy Shukri yesterday said Uber has yet to apply to the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (LPKP) in both Sarawak and Sabah for a licence and are therefore classified as illegal.
Uber, the global ride-hailing service available through smartphones started in Kota Kinabalu in May Kuching in September and has been gaining popularity in both cities. In Sabah, local competitor, Grab has also joined the fray.
The ride sharing app has been consistently declared illegal but continues to operate due to the difficulty in charging the case in court.
The federal government had recently given its approval for these ride-sharing services with the proposal for the issuance of a new public service vehicle (PSV) permit called the “driver card” which would allow the government to legalise Uber and Grab services without amending the existing laws.
However, Sabah and Sarawak have separate laws governing commercial road transport users.
