PUTRAJAYA, March 24 – Some 1,000 recipients of individual taxi permits will receive a RM5,000 grant to buy the Proton Exora MPV, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said today.
He said all taxi drivers who received the individual permits were obliged to buy that vehicle for use as the taxi.
“This is another commitment of the government to ensure that taxi drivers can use a suitable vehicle for the convenience and comfort of passengers,” he said at the distribution of individual taxi permits at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC), here.
At the event, the prime minister handed over individual taxi permits to 200 recipients. The rest of the permits would be given away by the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD).
Also present at the event were Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, who is the patron of the Pertubuhan Teksi Malaysia, and SPAD chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar.
Najib said the 1MDB People’s Foundation would provide the grant, and the RM64,000 cost of the vehicle would be reduced to RM59,000.
He also said that these taxi drivers would be allowed to transport people to and from the KL International Airport (KLIA) 1 and KLIA 2 as well.
The prime minister said another promise had been fulfilled today because the welfare of the taxi drivers had to be taken into consideration for them to support their families and look forward to a better future.
“Although it cannot be denied that taxi companies had provided jobs for taxi drivers, there are a few which exploit taxi drivers and subject them to what can be likened to a modern-day system of slavery,” he said.
As such, he said, this government effort could ensure the welfare of taxi drivers and launch a new system for implementation when the time came because it was not impossible to attain a world-class taxi service.
Najib said the taxi drivers who received the permits today would have to return the favour by being courteous and trustworthy and “not forget the government’s deed when the time comes”.
The prime minister said the government had given out much aid, and cited as examples the 1Malaysia People’s Taxi (TR1MA) programme and the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) 1.0 and BR1M 2.0.
“This is different from the opposition’s Bersih 1.0, Bersih 2.0 and Bersih 3.0 (street demonstrations). We have BR1M 1.0, BR1M 2.0 and TR1MA. Soon, SPAD will
launch TR1MA 2.0,” he said.
TRIMA will benefit 76,000 taxi drivers throughout the country. Najib said this was a government which had the welfare of the people at heart, which did not trouble the country, which did not violate the laws, which did not destroy the country but built a better nation, unlike the opposition.
Meanwhile, Syed Hamid said the issuing of individual taxi permits would not cause an abundance of taxis on the streets because a few taxi companies had given up their permits.
“As time goes by, if more of them like to give up (their permits), then we will issue more permits. We will also conduct a study in terms of the increase in the number of residents as well as demand. We will not issue permits
arbitrarily. We want to make sure that everyone can earn a living,” he said.
Syed Hamid said the recipients of the individual taxi permits would use the Proton Exora as a budget taxi.
“They will enjoy a seven-year loan repayment period and a low instalment rate. The ownership of the vehicle cannot be transferred. The recipient will own the vehicle.
“This is a good opportunity provided by the government to taxi drivers. I hope that the recipients of these permits will provide a good taxi service,” he said.
-BERNAMA
