‘Kereta sapu’ overload in Padang Besar affecting taxi drivers’ income
PADANG BESAR: “It is very difficult to earn even RM20 a day. Thais just hop over easily and offer fares that are much lower and steal our customers,” said a 46-year-old taxi driver who wanted to be known only as Amran.
He complained about the transport operators from Thailand, saying they had no compunction about entering Malaysia to operate the business illegally with no care whatsoever of the plight of local operators, especially taxi drivers.
“This has been happening not just of late but has been going on for years, they operate as though they are immune to the law and are free to pick up passengers with impunity. Some of them even behave like thugs,” he told Bernama when met at the Padang Besar taxi stand here.
He said these illegal operators not only ferry passengers around Padang Besar but also transport workers of Thai restaurants in Penang, Alor Setar (Kedah) and Seremban (Negeri Sembilan) to renew their social visit passes at the Padang Besar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex.
Most of these illegal operators, were from Pattani and Songkhla in southern Thailand and carried out their activities during the school holidays and weekends, he said.
Amran disclosed that they had three illegal stands around Padang Besar, one in front of the Padang Besar Railway Station, another in front of Arked Niaga Padang Besar and the other in front of the Padang Besar Fire and Rescue Station and that it is not difficult to identify the vehicles because they have tinted windows and Thai registration plates.
“They are very slick in that they can detect the movement of enforcement personnel, which enables them to escape the law.
“When the Road Transport Department (JPJ) officers are on patrol, they just ‘disappear’; they seem to know the ins and outs of the movement of JPJ vehicles,” he said, as he looked at his taxi that is more than 10 years old.
“This is all I made today, not even RM20, toiling from morning to evening. If it continues like this, I don’t know how I will be able to feed my wife and children,” he said, showing to these reporters a RM10 note and a few RM1 notes that he brought out of a pocket.
Amran said he and several other fellow taxi drivers have lodged complaints with the authorities and even furnished photographs and video recordings of the illegal activities.
“I hope the authorities can take action to protect our rice bowl, the patrols carried out by the authorities are not enough to stamp out this menace,” he said.
A fellow taxi driver asking to be identified only as Rahmat, 52, also affected by this ‘kereta sapu’ vehicles (pirate taxis), claims that the local taxi drivers are eking out a ‘kais pagi makan pagi, kais petang makan petang’ (hand-to-mouth) living now, unlike how it was five years ago.
He has been in the business over the last 11 years and recounted the good old days when the returns were lucrative with domestic and foreign tourists alike patronising their services because tourists did not have much choice then, but the situation is very different now.
“The pirates not only pick up passengers on the Malaysian side but also bring in and out passengers from Thailand. They are having the best of both worlds,” he added.
If ‘kereta sapu’ cars and vans are not bad enough, he revealed, there is now the added menace of ‘motosikal sapu’ (pirate motorcyclists) from Thailand joining the fray by engaging in cross-border transportation of passengers.
“See that illegal motorcycle taxi operator waiting to pick up a passenger without any fear,” he said, pointing to a Thai man in a yellow vest in front of a shop near the Padang Besar Taxi Stand.
The father of four said that, to his knowledge, they are only allowed to operate in Thailand and cannot pick up passengers on the Malaysian side.
“I cannot understand how they can come over, not once or twice but repeatedly to ply their business,” he said.
Checks by Bernama found the pirate cars, vans and motorcycles from Thailand operating daily, from 10 am to 6 pm.
During the Chinese New Year festive season, Bernama found about 50 motorcycle pirate taxis operating, charging fares ranging from RM7 to RM10 for a trip to Padang Besar town on the Thai side.
Rahmat said the authorities, including the state government, must think of ways to overcome the problem because he himself is uncertain how long he can be in the business because of this situation.
“Our future looks bleak, if this is not cleaned up, my taxi will end up a rust bucket,” he said, as he wiped clean his taxi’s side mirrors.
Bernama
