Cabbies’ ‘tidak apa’ attitude bad for tourism – MATTA

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Taxi drivers have been in the news lately, mainly because of their protests against app-based private driver services such as Uber and GrabCar. The cabbies claim that their income is being eroded by the privateers, who are not licensed and are unburdened by vehicle rental.

While some of the points raised are valid, there has to be demand for the private driver services to mushroom. Recently, British taxi comparison site LondonCabs placed Malaysian taxi drivers at the top of the ‘10 Countries with the Worst Taxi Drivers in the World’ list, with overcharging, detouring and refusing to use meters the chief complaints, besides vehicles that are old and in poor condition.

“Our taxi drivers need to improve their services to reverse the perception that passengers have. Instead of just blaming Uber for a decrease in the number of passengers, they need to counter these allegations (that taxi services are poor) and prove them wrong,” Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar was recently quoted as saying.

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“Drivers need to provide better services, be more polite, and also be presentable, so that customers won’t shy away. The cars should also always be in good condition, as some of them are still driving very old cars in poor conditions, like the Proton Saga,” he added.

Now, Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) president Hamzah Rahmat has weighed in on the issue, saying that the attitude of taxi drivers and safety aspects should be emphasised to lure more tourists to KL, which has been ranked the seventh best value city break destination by TripAdvisor.

He said that many taxi drivers have a lackadaisical (tidak apa in Malay) attitude, and some of them were rude to passengers and did not want to use the meter. “Taxi drivers, as the country’s small ambassadors, should show good examples by appreciating tourists because it is part of their job to bring passengers to desired destinations,” he told Bernama.

The MATTA head urged relevant authorities to conduct more frequent monitoring to ensure problems raised by passengers could be addressed promptly. Patrols and enforcement should also be stepped up at tourist destinations to ensure safety, he said.

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Danny Tan

Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.

 

Comments

  • TopsyBoXyTurvy on Jul 27, 2015 at 4:15 pm

    To begin with, it’s the government n it’s ministries who show “tidak apa” attitude in all their responsibilities.

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 88 Thumb down 6
    • OMG…u r right…all the tak apa attitudes is learned from the useless G.

      Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 55 Thumb down 3
    • fast5 on Jul 27, 2015 at 4:56 pm

      Well said…

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 2
    • Same L0rrrr on Jul 27, 2015 at 5:01 pm

      Why you expect someone to care while you don’t even care about any tax payers/citizen in your country? I dedicated the question to our “beloved” government.

      To protect your abang adik, you impose heavy taxes on foreign cars.
      To cover your greed and expensive shopping, you impose GST.

      If the country leaders don’t care about anyone, what would expect from the tax drivers?

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 27 Thumb down 14
      • toyotaik on Jul 27, 2015 at 8:29 pm

        Kia can sell much safer picanto with much cheaper price than vios.

        Blame your own self

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 5
  • Just let Uber take over. Case close.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 44 Thumb down 1
  • Ganeson on Jul 27, 2015 at 4:36 pm

    Taxis are purchased tax free, there are even gov’t subsides for tyres for taxis, not to mention that they are running on CNG that is heavily subsidised by the government. If all the subsidies were withdrawn, then there is a level playing field. otherwise I don’t see why they are crying foul. They have dug their own graves if a tourist that just landed here would rather trust a stranger from Uber than a stranger from the gov’t approved taxis. Here’s an idea, all SPAD approved taxis do billing and tracking like UBER for their taxis and the gov’t pays the taxi drivers fixed flagfall and charges per km traveled instead of a cash economy as is the case now.. I am tired of being fleeced by taxis and I am not a tourist. I’d rather rent a car and drive instead of using a taxi most times.

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 60 Thumb down 0
  • ben yap on Jul 27, 2015 at 5:12 pm

    that tidak apa attitude number 1. come out and protest also number 1.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 22 Thumb down 0
  • isuzuki on Jul 27, 2015 at 5:40 pm

    Not only cab ‘tidak apa’……. Others too.. Go figure

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 12 Thumb down 1
  • albag on Jul 27, 2015 at 5:43 pm

    u blame me I blame u… tak abis abis… nobody wanna find the root cause and solve it

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 0
  • A very obvious simple solution. just fire all those non-performers and bring in Banglas, tons of banglas, to be taximen.
    Then if they are good at their jobs and show loyalty, gip them citizenship.
    Those who dun like this idea will be put on boats with Rohinyas and send to South China Sea.

    Win-win-win for everybody!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 14 Thumb down 8
  • Brickleafus on Jul 27, 2015 at 8:37 pm

    Tuduh-menuduh aka blaming are part of malaysian culture. Including those who are commenting here. The sickening truth of malaysians.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 5
  • Samad Jain on Jul 27, 2015 at 8:39 pm

    the whole govt and its system is bloated from top to bottom. Overstaffed, redundancy and have this mental “tidak apa” attitude.

    Kerja or no kerja, rajin or no rajin……..they would receive their wages. This is the mentality of the govt of Malaysia all these while.

    Need proof? Go visit any govt department service counters. Out of 10 counters, only 2 open. if 2 open, the service takes ages to get done.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 5
    • Went to Imigresen Jalan Duta last year. I regretted going so early. Cuz of some error (my fault), I had to go again an hour later.
      My turn the 2nd round was even faster than early morning, even with the crowd of people. Cuz all the counters were open. The number buzzer was calling numbers by the second.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 0
  • Albert on Jul 27, 2015 at 9:05 pm

    Sack all of them,including b_tak.
    Year in,year out….what progress did you see?
    Politics,sweeping under the carpet….ptui!
    Shambolic management of the highest degree.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 1
  • Jobless on Jul 27, 2015 at 9:26 pm

    I haVent taken a taxi in maybe 25 years becoz dunt want to be ripped off …ok just a few times, to klia, and even those me asked the regular taxi i took…and another twice met two hinest taxi drivers…the rest just kip blaming oters

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 1
  • tokmoh. on Jul 27, 2015 at 10:28 pm

    Eleh… buat2 tak tau.

    Senang je nak solve problem taxi ni sebenarnya, tinggal ada telor ke tada telor nak kacau sistem permit teksi.

    Itu je, pusing la sini sana, salah Uber, salah grabcar, salah proton, salah semua orang lain, selagi tak mula dengan sistem permit tu, toksah mimpi nak improve teksi.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 12 Thumb down 0
  • Given a choice of either taking a good condition Uber vehicle or a not well maintained Taxi but with similar price, I prefer the former.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
  • To say about taxi no business, in fact is beyond that. Not stolen by uber or what. The whole economic of Malaysia has slow down. All my business friends complaining about drop of 30% to 70%. Since implementation of gst, price of fuel hike, najib’s issue, everything is like earthquake for our economic, everything unstable. People tend to save money & less travel. Our currency also drop, not worth of travelling.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 3
  • NasiLemak2.0 on Jul 28, 2015 at 1:10 am

    Di mana ade Nasi Lemak, di situ ade masalah. Out whole gomen is nasi lemak management.. Patut la semua cam tu.. Tak boleh ubah la!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 1
  • I cant help but pity taxi drivers here in Malaysia. They can’t have individual taxi permit and if so very few and difficult to get. All taxis are controlled by few big taxi corporation that imposes unfair T&C to the taxi drivers. They have to meets certain quotas in order to make money, else they runs at loss. Therefore, they couldn’t care less about the quality of their service, because they are too busy meeting their quota and as a result less responsible. My 2 cents.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1
    • Tree Hugger on Jul 28, 2015 at 1:58 pm

      True. Also now after GST implementation, taxi driver has to pay 6% GST on their daily hire purchase repayment because taxi permit companies choose to combine the taxi hire purchase repayment with permit rental into 1 lump sum figure, hence it falls under ‘service’ which is subject to GST. The government knows this but still do nothing about it. Just imagine how would you feel if your personal car hire purchase repayment every month is charged 6% GST? So, how can government still blame the taxi drivers after what the government and the taxi permit companies have put them through?

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • kesiantaxi on Jul 28, 2015 at 4:10 pm

      Pity? Kesian? i’m actually despised them! i see them like a leeches.. parasites! they so lazy.. like to hang around infront of big hotel or big shopping mall, hoping to make a killing by slitting your throat or tourist..! acting like a bouncer.. and can dropped you off in the middle of highway if you argue with them! (happens to tourist and malaysian few times!)
      They also insensitive.. offering girls to male passenger, as if all male passenger are looking for pros.. stupid pimp taxi driver.
      That’s why nowadays I would give all my money to UBER! better service, i can track them where they are.., and even trace them once I left my valuables inside uber car.

      SO Botak! please let Uber be legal so we can have peace of mind! not thinking about those pesky taxi driver!

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
 

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