HARESH SAYS: Please help ailing taxi industry
As published in Malay Mail today HARESH SAYS By Haresh Deol WE sat at the corner of a rather dingy eatery near the former Rothman’s roundabout in Petaling Jaya. It was there that Kumar shared his taxi driving tales over some tomyam. “It’s not pretty … just like this place,” he said, slurping the spicy dish while stray cats stared at us, hoping for a morsel. In his mid-30s, Kumar is a frustrated man. He thought he could make an honest living as a taxi driver in Kuala Lumpur. “But I hardly make anything these days,” he sighed. Kumar bought a second-hand taxi — a 2010 Proton Saga BLM — from a taxi company in 2013. He paid a down payment of RM2,500 and his “loan” had him paying RM47 daily for two years and five months. The daily payment includes the car loan, driver’s permit fee, installation of a natural gas vehicle (NGV) tank and insurance. Once he finishes paying the loan, the car will be his. But if he plans to continue driving, Kumar will...