Taxi Drivers Protest Outside Parliament House, Claim E-Hailing Services Are Illegal

Today is the first parliamentary sitting ever since Pakatan Harapan took the 14th general election by storm, and already we are seeing so much drama happening with Barisan Nasional (BN) and PAS members staging a walkout in protest of the appointment of former Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof as the new Dewan Rakyat Speaker.

Meanwhile, at 9am today (July 16), about 150 taxi drivers from all around the country gathered at Padang Merbok, which is located about 3km from the Parliament house.

Source: malaysia kini

They did this as a protest against the operations of e-hailing services, and planned to march towards Parliament to meet transport minister, Anthony Loke, Malaysia Kini reported. 

They chanted, “E-Hailing Service is an illegal business! We need the rule of law!”

Source: malaysia kini

Deputy president of Persim (Malaysian Taxi Drivers Transformation Association), Kamarudin Mohd Hussain said that a memorandum had been prepared by the organisation to be submitted to the minister.

About 15 police officials and six Light Strike Force personnel with riot shields were on standby at Padang Merbok to prevent the protesters from carrying out their plans and marching out.

Source: malaysia kini

One of the protesters who goes by the name of Jazz Rizal said that Persim had not applied for a permit for the assembly. However, after negotiating with the police, the protesters will be granted a meet-up with a representative from the Ministry of Transport as announced by Dang Wangi Deputy District Police Chief Rudy Abdullah.

Why do you think these taxi drivers are protesting against e-hailing services even when both are now subject to the same licensing conditions? Let us know in the comments below.

Also read: Protesters Hold Peaceful Demonstration to Uphold BM As M’sia’s National Language