SHOUTING WON’T HELP

IT is usual for people to champion an industry or vocation, but the approach varies. Those with professionalism will argue with reason, while those who engage in rhetoric will be popular but only with likeminded supporters.

In Malaysia, none are more vocal than a small group of taxi operators and drivers. Almost every business has been affected by the new economy and disruptive technologies, but most are adapting to changes rather than wasting time protesting.

But those who refuse to face reality and make changes will eventually perish.

It is best summed up by Leon Megginson, a professor of business management in the United States, who said: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most adaptable to change.”

The best example could be Kodak, which invented digital photography but failed to capitalise on it, allowing others to do so and destroyed its filmed-based model. Kodak hung on to its business model that had earned fortunes for its shareholders.

In Malaysia, the business model of taxi companies mainly involved renting out permits and providing financing for taxi drivers.

About half of all taxi permits in Peninsular Malaysia were issued to taxi companies by the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board.

In 2011, this role was taken over by the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD), which froze the issuance of taxi permits, as there were too