Gabung Teksi Se-Malaysia also accused Loke of trying to drive a wedge between taxi drivers and Putrajaya, saying the minister frequently issued statements which suggested they were anti-establishment.
“We are giving the ministry two weeks to fix a date for a meeting between the ministry and taxi drivers, and Loke should attend the meeting too,” the body’s chairman Kamaruddin Hussain said today after meeting Loke’s representatives at the Ministry of Transport here.
“If not, there might be another protest again, here.”
He said taxi drivers were merely airing their grievances over issues related to e-hailing.
“We are not against the government, we just want to help to solve the issue. We just want an equal treatment and a solid law to be applied,” he said.
He said Loke should not repeat what the previous government had done when it ignored complaints from taxi drivers.
“When the ministry said it would standardise the system, we demand for its promise to be fulfilled. We want the fare rates and commissions to be standardised,” he said.
Loke had previously warned taxi drivers not to threaten his ministry, after a taxi company boss said he would organise a gathering in Kuala Lumpur if Loke refused to meet them.
Big Blue Taxi chief executive officer Shamsulbahrin Ismail, who was also present today, said he had used the proper channel to request a meeting with Loke but never got a reply.
“It is happening again. The previous government did not bother to meet us, and now Pakatan Harapan is also doing the same thing,” said Shamsulbahrin, adding that Loke should strive to be a better transport minister than his predecessor Liow Tiong Lai.