Barely a month ago, a report that Uber was illegal in Malaysia turned out to be a false alarm. Nonetheless, yesterday’s news on The Star Online of the Road Transport Department’s (RTD) nationwide crackdown on Uber – which will start on October 1 – did not come as much of a surprise to anyone following the situation.
RTD’s director-general Datuk Seri Ismail Ahmad reportedly said that any individuals or companies found using private vehicles to provide taxi-like services would be seen as offenders under Section 16 of the Land Public Transportation Act 2010. He terms these vehicles as teski sapu, or illegal taxi, and their drivers would be fined between MYR1,000 (US$307) and MYR10,000 (US$3,077), or jailed for up to a year.
Interestingly, he added that “taxis and limousines using the Uber application would not be affected” by this crackdown, which amounts to a grudging admission of the utility that UberBLACK adds to the local taxi ecosystem. Certainly, Uber seems to have won the hearts of many riders, who have even banded together to form an ‘Uber supporter Malaysia’ Facebook page:
It is, however, not clear how much UberX will be affected by this, as the nature of UberX in Malaysia is currently unknown – whether their drivers are commercially licensed, or ordinary citizens looking to make a buck. If RTD carries out the crackdown to the letter – that is, on all private vehicles – UberX drivers will be in for a rough time, regardless of whether they are licensed or not.
On this, Tech in Asia has reached out to Uber for clarification, but they remain tight-lipped. Uber’s regional general manager Mike Brown did, however, express his disappointment with the situation:
This is clearly an attempt to protect the taxi industry that has failed its customers in Kuala Lumpur. Preventing our driver partners from earning a living and getting people safely and reliably around town doesn’t just hurt the residents and visitors, it hurts the city. Uber is providing safer, cheaper and more reliable transportation options for riders and we’re creating more opportunities for drivers.
See: Malaysian taxi association calls for action against Uber
Editing by Terence Lee
(And yes, we’re serious about ethics and transparency. More information here.)
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