KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — A group representing the taxi community has called for the resignation of Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook, saying he is the one to blame for the industry’s decline.

In denouncing the walkout staged by several cabbies during a forum with Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in Langkawi over the weekend, Gabungan Teksi Se-Malaysia instead blamed Loke for the industry’s shortcomings. 

"The whole Malaysia has heard and now know the individual that should be blamed and held responsible is YB Anthony Loke.

“The prime minister’s explanation during the dialogue with taxi drivers in Langkawi clearly proves the concerned minister did not adhere to repeated instructions given by the prime minister,” said its chairman Kamarudin Hussain in a statement today. 

Kamarudin said it made no sense for cabbies to call for Dr Mahathir’s resignation, instead saying Loke should resign for practising cultures similar to that of ministers from the Barisan Nasional administration.

“Tomorrow we will be having a peaceful gathering at Padang Merbok in Kuala Lumpur, but we are not asking for the prime minister to resign, we want YB Anthony Loke to be dismissed.

“He has failed to solve the taxi issue; should be held responsible to what happened to the prime minister in Langkawi, and he is the reason why the community condemns the industry,” said the statement.

Meanwhile, the executive director of taxi-hailing company PicknGO, Valerie Chan Chee Ching, in a statement today expressed regret over the walkout, saying a vast majority of cabbies maintained their professionalism and are well-mannered.

“The backlash has already begun with messages on social media going around calling for the boycott of taxis.

“It is however not fair to allow a few bad apples to determine the outcome of any situation,” Chan said.

Chan then suggested for the government to shape policies that would benefit the industry and help them, but not in the form of handouts.

She pointed out that 67,000 people had at the last census admitted they relied on their taxi business to make a living. 

“This is not a weekend job for these 67,000 people. This is their career. And to many of them, they do not know how to be anything else.

“Helping does not mean handouts. Helping means shaping good policies that can cut bureaucracy and make it easier and safer for them to make a living,” it read.

Chan also suggested a more proactive approach be taken for regulation and enforcement, while instilling a holistic public policy impacting the industry as a whole, and not just short-term measures.