“Never ever threaten the government. The public should understand that we will not bow down to pressure from any quarters,” said the Tourism and Culture minister in a press conference here today.

He was responding to a threat by the adviser of taxi operator Big Blue Capital Sdn Bhd, Shamsubahrin Ismail.

The latter had earlier said that 95% of the country’s 75,000 taxi drivers would stop supporting Barisan Nasional if the government approved the services of Uber and GrabCar.

This came following reports that the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) had proposed to abolish the Public Service Vehicle (PSV) licence and replace it with a SPAD driver’s card system.

According to Nazri, the government, when making the decision, had taken into account what the public wanted as well.

“We have to give priority to the consumers,” he said, adding that they out-numbered taxi drivers in the country.

“How can you deny the rights of the consumers?”

Uber and GrabCar are popular taxi alternatives, having gained popularity due to their affordability and convenience compared with taxis.

Cabbies have however expressed dissatisfaction over the loss of income and have reacted violently against Uber and GrabCar drivers in the recent past.