KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 16 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak today stood up for low-income taxi drivers in the country, pleading with the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) to provide them with cheap homes in public housing schemes.
A far cry from the once-powerful figure he cut as prime minister, the Pekan MP sought to highlight the depressed wages from the taxi drivers faced with stiff competition from e-hailing services like Grab.
“So this is what makes them all dissatisfied, and in addition to that, their welfare, especially with regards to the housing aspect, many of them did not get PPR homes. Although they applied for it, they were not considered,” he told a news conference at his house here after lunch with a group representing the cabbies.
PPR refers to the People’s Public Housing, one of the public housing schemes set up in the country.
Najib claimed there were double standards in rules imposed on e-hailing drivers and taxi drivers.
“The conditions imposed on Grab and Uber are too loose. For instance, they can wear shorts and such.
“Also there are other factors that are not so fair, whereby in KLIA for example, Grab and Uber can place their vehicles there, making it a hub.
“If we were to look at the definition of e-hailing, e-hailing means they do not have a permanent hub there, and they move around according to needs. They will come when they are called. However in KLIA, they have somewhat become a taxi service,” he said.
Najib said that under his leadership, the then Barisan Nasional government actively looked for a middle ground to help both e-hailing service providers and taxi drivers.
He said that the welfare of cabbies was also taken into account, leading to the then government initiating several programmes for the group, including providing them with the 1Malaysia Peoples’ Aid or BR1M, free tyres and individual taxi permits.
Najib said he would follow-up on the matter with a visit to other taxi drivers to understand better their plight.
