Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor has criticised taxi drivers who staged a demonstration against Uber and Grabcar services in Kuala Lumpur.

"I don't understand why they want to hold a demonstration. If they did nothing wrong, for sure Grabcar and Uber (services) will not be successful.

"When Grabcar and Uber is successful, it means they (conventional taxis) are doing something wrong," he told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

Rather than holding demonstrations, Tengku Adnan, who is also known as Ku Nan, said taxi drivers should have reflected on their own shortcomings compared to Grabcar and Uber.

He said this when asked for comment on the gathering of some 300 taxi drivers near Pavilion Mall yesterday to protest the government's inaction against ride-sharing services.

Police had issued an ultimatum to the taxi drivers to disperse by noon and arrested five drivers after the deadline ended.

Tengku Adnan said the taxi drivers should work towards improving their services to be on par with their competitors, particularly in areas around the KL Golden Triangle.

"There is frustration in using taxis. You need to change, to survive you need to be better," he said.

Tengku Adnan also noted that the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) should play its role to upgrade taxi services and crack down on errant drivers.

This, he said, was because they (SPAD) are the only authority with jurisdiction to do so.

"We (the ministry through Kuala Lumpur City Hall) keep talking to SPAD (but) we have no authority over the taxis," he said.

On complaints from passengers around KL, Tengku Adnan said there were taxis that refused to travel short distances using the metre, as well as dirty vehicles.

Earlier in his speech, Tengku Adnan expressed hope that Kuala Lumpur will be recognised as one of the 10 most liveable city in the world by 2020.

He also pledged to assist all investors and businesses keen to participate in the development of Kuala Lumpur.