Taxi drivers grateful for timely help

SERDANG: Taxi drivers were buoyed by the good news from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and believed that it will help them with their expenses.

Sivan Aarchuthan, 52, expressed delight over the assistance received and said the aid would greatly help to alleviate the rising cost of living.

“I am 100 per cent happy. I hope Barisan Nasional will continue to be the government so that this initiative will not stop halfway.

“If this initiative is gone, all taxi drivers, including Grab drivers, will suffer,” he said at the 1Malaysia Taxi Assistance Card (Kad Bantuan Teksi 1Malaysia) presentation yesterday.

For Md Sukardi Hashim, 67, the card came at the right time.

“I’m very happy because with the RM800 card and 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M), I will get around RM2,000.

“Next month is Ramadan, then it will be Hari Raya. So, we do need this.”

Bahari Md Shah, 64, who lives in Petaling Jaya, said after 25 years of driving a taxi, this was the first time he had received such an aid from the government.

“Thank you, Datuk Seri (Najib) for this help. This is the first time I’m receiving such an assistance and it is the best.”

As for Mohd Amir Abdul Talib, 64, who has been a cabbie since 2005, the assistance was timely, given the competition from ehailing services.

“We do need assistance because the competition from Grab is putting us under pressure,” said the Melaka-born driver.