The Malaysian Insight

E-HAILING industry players sympathise with drivers, especially the elderly and those not proficient in Bahasa Malaysia, who find it hard to take the test to obtain the public service vehicle (PSV) licence.

However, drivers are urged to be ethical and obtain the licence, which will become mandatory this Saturday, legally.

Malaysian E-Hailing Drivers’ Association (MeHDA) president Daryl Chong said it is no secret that some drivers pay “under-the-table money” to get the licence, adding that he knows about such “services”.

“We understand the difficulties some of our drivers face, particularly those who have retired and are not good in BM. Some only have primary-level education, dropping out of school in Year Six,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

“While we sympathise with them, it doesn’t mean they should take the easy way out by resorting to illegal services.”

Elderly drivers and those who are illiterate find it the hardest to take the written test, he said, stressing that they are “not lazy” and “sincerely want to work”.

Chong said when the government’s new rules for e-hailing drivers take effect on Saturday, the 100,000 drivers who meet the requirements are not enough to match customer demand.

To help drivers, ride-sharing company Dacsee, which has the Land Public Transport Agency’s approval to offer e-learning courses, said it is providing simulated practice tests for the PSV licence.

“Many drivers are proficient only in Chinese. So, the written test is difficult for them as everything is in BM,” said operations manager Andrew Chuah.

“Of the more than 200 drivers who have taken our mock tests, only two failed (the actual test).”

He added that some PSV licence test invigilators, who understand the difficulties faced by elderly drivers or those proficient only in Chinese, try to help by correcting them. – October 8, 2019.