SPAD should be the fierce enforcer

I WAS deeply shocked to read the lukewarm response of the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) to the revelation that Malaysia is on the top of the global list for having the worst taxi drivers, “Taxi services are being improved” ( The Star, July 4).

All SPAD’s chairman could say was that the report “only confirmed what SPAD and other Malaysians knew all along” but “it is already working to improve taxi services in the country.”

Assurance after assurance that the services will be improved means nothing to the long-suffering rakyat if no real effective action is taken.

The major complaint is that cabbies continue to fleece passengers in broad daylight by refusing to use the meter. Board any taxi in Penang, Johor Baru or Malacca and you accept the fact that all do not use the meter. How come they are able to do this so blatantly without batting an eyelid? Aren’t they showing contempt to SPAD? Are they not afraid of losing their licences? What are the enforcement officers doing on a daily basis?

More often than not, we hear statements that the taxi drivers in the country are generally okay and that only a few are contributing to the problem.

It appears that SPAD has finally admitted that the majority of the taxi drivers are bad and demonstrate openly their poor regard to the enforcement agency.

The rakyat are simply sick and tired of being harassed by these taxi drivers on a daily basis. SPAD chairman, please turun padang and use the taxi service to experience what we commuters face each time we board a taxi. Better still, use the taxi service for your everyday needs until the situation improves. My conclusion is that if SPAD is not part of the solution, then they are part of the problem. They are simply poor enforcers and lack teeth.