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Focus Malaysia
29-07-2025
- Business
- Focus Malaysia
Is it worth the trouble to train taxi drivers?
I DON'T know whether to laugh or cry when reading the Bernama report 'VM2026: Gov't Plans Language, Etiquette Training for Taxi Drivers ‒ Loke' published last Sunday. It was reported that Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook emphasised that taxi drivers play a crucial role as the first point of contact for visitors, shaping their initial impression of the country. He said: 'The taxi industry is more than just transportation, but represents the heartbeat of public service and serves as the first impression of the country for tourists. The initiative is part of broader efforts to improve public transport quality ahead of the anticipated tourism surge in 2026.' To me, it was like stepping back in time when I drove metered taxis in the Klang Valley from 2000 to 2010. For Visit Malaysia 2007, taxi drivers were trained under the old two-day Mesra Malaysia programme, which I did not attend as I was one of the certified trainers for this course. Later in July 2012, the Tourism Taxi Ambassadors programme was launched by then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak at Dataran Putra. In attendance were tourism minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen, several other cabinet ministers, and more than 500 taxi drivers assembled there. Training had commenced earlier in March and as of June 28, about 2,315 taxi drivers have been selected to undergo training. It was reported that some 4,000 taxi drivers will be appointed as ambassadors after they have completed a one-day course at the Malaysian Tourism Centre. During the launching ceremony, Najib told taxi drivers they are the 'pulse of the ecosystem' for tourism as they meet and interact with tourists who come to the country, and well-trained taxi drivers can help shape and improve tourists' perception of Malaysia. He said, 'If taxi drivers are polite, courteous, and customer-friendly, speak good things about the country, and show a positive attitude, tourists will feel welcome. Tourists meet thousands of taxi drivers and through their interactions, tourists' perception of Malaysia is formed.' He said the government decided to appoint taxi drivers as tourism ambassadors as it realises that cabbies are the front-liners in welcoming and interacting with tourists and explained that taxi drivers have been trained and given guidance on how to project a good image of Malaysia. But all the hype and training had largely been in vain, and I should know. I trained taxi drivers in 2014 under different programmes for taxi companies and government agencies, including the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) for 1,000 Teksi 1Malaysia (TEKS1M) drivers. The 2012 Tourism Taxi Ambassadors programme was introduced as taxi drivers were seen as a vote bank and influencers in the 2013 General Elections. The training did not stop Kuala Lumpur from having the worst taxi drivers in the world in 2015, as ranked by In 2014, Uber was introduced to Malaysia, forcing MyTeksi to also using private cars to compete and morph into Grab. Instead of continuing to rent permits, cabbies switched to private cars and ran more trips than taxi drivers, as passengers could hire them easily and even pay less. As a result, most taxi drivers switched to e-hailing, leaving only the stubborn and still trying to fix fares, or those who could not learn how to receive bookings via apps, especially the elderly. Now, these taxi drivers wait patiently for long hours at train stations or shopping malls for passengers. If they could be roped in to attend training on language and etiquette, they must surely rank as the most difficult to train participants in the world. In any case, domestic and foreign visitors have been using e-hailing apps back home and when they travel, and hardly use local taxis. Therefore, announcing the plan to train taxi drivers during the third annual general meeting of the Malaysia Taxi, Rental Car, Limousine and Airport Taxi Association appears to be a move just to win over taxi drivers. But the number and role is a pale shadow of their former self. ‒ July 29, 2025 YS Chan is master trainer for Mesra Malaysia and Travel and Tours Enhancement Course and an Asean Tourism Master Trainer. He is also a tourism and transport business consultant. The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia. Main image: VOCKET
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New Straits Times
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- New Straits Times
Stop treating road fatalities as isolated cases, says Wee [WATCH]
KUALA LUMPUR: Former Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong has called on the government to stop treating road fatalities as isolated incidents and instead hold transport companies accountable for preventable crashes. This, he said, includes following through with the implementation of mandatory GPS tracking and corporate liability enforcement. Wee said many fatal accidents stem from systemic practices, such as pressuring drivers to speed or exceed legal working hours. "Discipline starts from the top. You must punish the company, not just the driver. "If you force drivers to speed or make extra trips, then these are the consequences," he said. He noted that the mandatory GPS tracking for commercial vehicles had been delayed due to industry resistance and was later derailed during the Covid-19 pandemic. "Some companies appealed in the early stages. Then Covid-19 came, and everything stopped — mostly due to the cost of bouncing back from the pandemic. "But we cannot keep delaying. If this is a real threat, then we must act to save lives." Wee also urged authorities to fully enforce corporate liability laws to crack down on companies that incentivise dangerous driving habits in pursuit of profit. "Other countries already do this. If a company pushes a driver beyond limits and something happens, they are held liable." He pointed out that in countries like the United Kingdom, drivers often refuse to exceed legal driving hours — not out of fear, but because corporate policy enforces safety. Blaming drivers alone for deadly road crashes, he said, is a short-sighted approach that ignores systemic failures in regulation and enforcement. He added that a "whole-of-nation" strategy is needed — including better inter-agency coordination, long-term staffing at transport authorities, and a renewed commitment to the proven "3E" model —engineering, enforcement, and education. "You cannot just pick one, like speeding, and ignore the rest. Speed contributes to fatalities. "But what about the roads? What about driver education? What about how we enforce the rules?" he said. On whether the government should reinstate the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) or strengthen the existing Land Public Transport Agency (APAD), now under the Transport Ministry, Wee noted: "That is the government's prerogative." "What's important is having the proper structure — because as far as I know, it's still operating under a contractual setup. "When your future is uncertain, you don't attract committed professionals. That's the biggest issue." He said regular inter-agency meetings, such as those hosted by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros), are essential, but follow-through has been lacking. "Miros calls for meetings, they give input. But do we act on it?" He said rebuilding a culture of road safety is not just about punishment. "It's about planning safer roads, educating drivers, and enforcing rules consistently. "That's how we change attitudes." Following two fatal heavy vehicle collisions in recent weeks, Transport Minister Anthony Loke yesterday (June 12) revealed that the bus operator involved in the crash that claimed 15 university students' lives failed all seven mandatory safety requirements under the Road Transport Department's Safety Audit and Inspection Report (JISA). The audit found the company had no appointed safety officer, failed to monitor driver speed via GPS, and did not enforce the eight-hour driving limit. Meanwhile, the ministry also published the preliminary report of a separate incident involving a fatal crash between a lorry and a Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) truck, said the report, was overloaded by more than 70 per cent. The report said the excessive weight increased the vehicle's kinetic energy, heightening both the impact of the collision and the risk of severe injury.
New Straits Times
12-06-2025
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Reinstate SPAD-like powers to fix land transport failures
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia must re-establish a centralised statutory body with the authority once held by the now-defunct Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) to address deep-rooted failures in land transport governance, says transport policy expert Wan Agyl Wan Hassan. Following recent fatal crashes in Gerik and Teluk Intan, Perak, Wan Agyl who previously served as SPAD Operation Group, Head of Policy and Planning, said that despite its imperfections, SPAD was the only agency with a comprehensive mandate over land transport, covering licensing, planning, enforcement, and reform. That clarity of mandate, he said, had been lost since SPAD was dissolved. "What we are seeing in the wake of these tragic crashes is not merely an enforcement failure — it is a governance vacuum. "Malaysia urgently needs a central authority akin to SPAD, empowered to plan, regulate, enforce, and reform the entire land transport system. "At present, responsibilities are scattered across multiple agencies with overlapping but uncoordinated mandates. That is why serious safety lapses continue to fall through the cracks." Wan Agyl said it was unacceptable that operators with hundreds of outstanding summonses were still permitted to operate, with enforcement only occurring after lives were lost. "It is time to return to a single, empowered and accountable authority that can drive long-term transport policy, not just react to crises," he said. SPAD was dissolved in 2018, with its functions absorbed into the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD), which now operates under the Transport Ministry. Wan Agyl, who is also the founder of the transport think tank MY Mobility Vision, said the administrative restructuring had weakened Malaysia's capacity to manage complex, cross-agency transport issues. Unlike SPAD, which developed the National Land Public Transport Master Plan and coordinated closely with state governments, APAD no longer leads on long-term strategic planning, he said. "Key public safety reforms have stalled. For instance, the master plan has not been updated in over seven years. We still lack an integrated system to track operator safety performance — even after multiple fatal crashes involving repeat offenders." Acknowledging that SPAD had its shortcomings, he said its dismantling resulted in a loss of institutional continuity and accountability. "What we need is not the return of SPAD in name, but a revival of its core function — a professional, independent, data-driven authority with the legal powers to prevent tragedies, not just respond to them." He added that it should not take another fatal incident to highlight the need for centralised, transparent, and technically capable leadership in transport governance. "Parliament must act with urgency. This new body should retain the planning and policy responsibilities previously held by SPAD, but be strengthened with internal oversight, digital monitoring tools, and clearly defined coordination with the ministry, JPJ, and state authorities.
New Straits Times
11-06-2025
- Automotive
- New Straits Times
Enforcement measures introduced under now defunct SPAD still in place, says Loke
KUALA LUMPUR: Global Positioning System (GPS)-based monitoring for speeding and other enforcement measures introduced under the now-defunct Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) are still in place, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke. He said there was a misconception that such enforcement had ceased following SPAD's dissolution. "Although SPAD no longer exists, the enforcement of laws and regulatory systems introduced during its time continues under the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) and the Road Transport Department (RTD)," he said at a press conference today. Loke said it was merely a change of agency, not a lapse in enforcement. "What was developed during SPAD's time is still being implemented and enforced. "The system is still in place. It is just handled by different agencies now," he added.
New Straits Times
07-06-2025
- Automotive
- New Straits Times
NST Leader: Unpaid traffic summonses
Malaysian vehicle owners particularly resent paying traffic summonses for illegal parking, unless forced by police action. Motorists tend to view summonses in three informal categories. First, local council tickets are often ignored due to their perceived lack of enforcement power. Second, traffic police summonses have more legal weight, as non-payment can lead to arrest warrants. Still, many ignore them, especially for illegal parking. RTD summonses, however, are usually taken seriously, as they block road tax and licence renewals until the summonses are paid. Even then, the most stubborn ignore police and RTD's annual flat rate amnesty offers. RTD said that it collected only RM56 million from 374,024 summonses, far below the potential amount, which could have been double or triple that amount. This suggests that many drivers aren't deterred by blacklisting — they continue driving without insurance, road tax or licences. The police discount, valid until June 30, offers a flat RM150 rate for speeding and traffic light violations — similar to RTD's offer. Here lies the problem. Motorists' blase attitude towards these offers reflects a contempt for traffic laws and penalties. This contempt has translated into more serious traffic offences, and more tragic accidents. Since the discounts don't improve road safety, it's time to scrap them and revive tougher penalties that deter offenders. Sure, that would mean more officers and working hours to round up offenders. Police may have to return to making "house calls" on offenders but it's a necessary price to forcibly change an entrenched mindset. There is a plausible solution: integrate data sharing between the traffic police, RTD, Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) and, while we are at it, the local councils. Under this integration, summonses imposed by traffic police and local councils are automatically recorded by the RTD and SPAD, which immediately blacklist drivers and vehicles with outstanding summonses. Alas, this may not happen in the near future because these agencies and their processes operate independently with little push to exchange data and information. Even when traffic police files a request to the RTD to blacklist certain offenders, the process is tedious and inefficient. Still, this logical and unified system isn't sidelined just yet: there are still efforts to combine the Automated Awareness Safety System, the Automated Enforcement System and the Kejara points demerit system. There's only one problem: this initiative had been lumbering for more than a decade and it is still lumbering.
