Cabbies want Nazri to say sorry over toilet remark

(Bernama) – Taxi drivers in the Klang Valley have demanded that Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz withdraw his statement saying “the bad attitude of our taxi drivers is worse than our filthy public toilets.”

Azmi Md Yatin, chairman of the Executive Taxi Owners Association of Malaysia, said that although Nazri said only a small number had negative attitudes like charging high fares and refusing to take passengers to distant destinations, his equating taxi drivers to toilets was an insult.

In a news report on Wednesday, Nazri said a survey of tourists revealed that the worst complaint was about taxis while toilets fell to second place leading to him to declare that the taxi service was worse than filthy public toilets.

“The statement by Nazri is extreme and we (taxi drivers) from the Klang Valley unequivocally agree that Nazri must apologise openly,” Azmi said after handing over a memorandum of protest on the issue to the Federal Territory Umno liaison committee secretary, Kamarudin Hassan, at the Jalan Peel Umno branch here yesterday.

Kamarudin was representing Cheras Umno division chief, Senator Datuk Wira Syed Ali AlHabshee.

About 100 taxi drivers from the Klang Valley were present at the event.

Meanwhile, Kamarudin said the memorandum would be handed over to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin next week.

Azmi said taxi drivers in the Klang Valley wanted Nazri to relinquish his portfolio overseeing the Com- mercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB).

In the event Nazri refuses to meet the demand, Azmi said he would ask all taxi drivers from various taxi associations in the Klang Valley to meet the prime minister to resolve the matter.