An association of taxi drivers has urged the government to close down e-hailing services like Grab.

Claiming to represent more than a third of the 67,000 taxi drivers nationwide, Petekma president Mohd Syahrir Abdul Aziz said this after meeting with the Council of Eminent Persons today.

“I ask the new government to close down (e-hailing services), they do not bring any benefits.

“As taxi drivers, this is our only job. Please be kind to us, if we have done anything that isn’t good, we are in a big family, we can give and take a little,” he told members of the media when leaving Menara Ilham in Kuala Lumpur.

Syahrir added that council members had listened without offering any comments or guarantees when he presented Petekma’s views.

Meanwhile, he said he supported the government’s decision to dismantle the Land Public Transport Commission (Spad), the agency which oversees the taxi industry.

“I agree (with the decision) because all the while, Spad has not helped us much. They have not functioned (well) as a regulator.

“Spad is supposed to look after issues faced by taxi drivers and public transport as a whole, but there has been no progress. They have been ineffective.

“Things that should not have been licensed were given licenses while taxis, which have been here all this while, were ignored just like that,” he stressed.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced the dissolution of Spad. 

Its responsibilities will be absolved by the Transport Ministry.

Spad chairperson Isa Samad has been given one week to resign from his post.