I refer to the recent press report that Penang cabbies now want to also raise their rates following in the footsteps of their counterparts in the Klang Valley - and this without first consulting and getting the approval of the Commercial Vehicles Licencing Board (CVLB). A recent letter to the editor in another forum attempts to justify why cabbies should be allowed to charge more.

It appears that all hell has broken loose as far as the cabbies in country are concerned. They seem to have missed the point which that regardless of their views on the rates imposed by CVLB, they cannot and must not be allowed to unilaterally charge as they please. That is tantamount to breaking the law and nothing justifies breaking the law.

If everyone went around breaking the law simply because they could justify it with some argument, then this country would be in utter chaos! CVLB appears to be a lame duck in this situation. They seem to have lost all ability to keep the situation under control. The cabbies seem to have the space and arrogance to do just as they please and CVLB can only threaten to 'revoke licences'.

It is wrong to claim that the majority of cabbies are law-abiding. Nothing can be further from the truth. Nine out of 10 cabbies don't use the meter in Penang and that hardly counts as a majority. However, one may be right in questioning the CVLB for its lack of competence. Nevertheless, one has to remember that it is precisely this lack of competence that allows errant taxi drivers to still stay on the road.

If the CVLB was indeed competent, taxi drivers would be using the meters a long time ago. I agree that the CVLB should be taken to task for not monitoring these taxi consortium deals that may have contributed to higher operating costs for taxi drivers.

Having said that, it is very worrisome to see our cabbies in the country acting up in such an arbitrary manner especially when this year is also the VMY2007. Already cabbies have been cited to be the No 2 liability for the VMY success ( Bernama survey reported on Jan 17).

With this kind of attitude and with the CVLB's total incompetence to curb such bad behaviour, I won't be surprised if the cabbies grab the top spot by the end of the year!