PETALING JAYA: There has been no change to the eligibility of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) to be used for e-hailing services, says the Transport Ministry.
In a statement yesterday, Transport Minister Anthony Loke (pic) said SUVs remain eligible for e-hailing registration as long as they meet the technical requirements, and have a seating capacity of between four and 11 passengers.
“The ministry would like to emphasise that there has been no change in policy regarding the eligibility of vehicle types for e-hailing services,” he said in response to recent media reports.
On Tuesday, The Star carried a story where e-hailing associations claim that members are facing difficulties in registering SUVs as e-hailing vehicles.
Gabungan E-Hailing Malaysia (GEM) and the Malaysian E-Hailing Drivers Association (MeHDA) have said that both the Road Transport Department (JPJ) and the Land Public Transport Agency (Apad) remained silent when the associations sought clarification.
GEM chief activist Masrizal Mahidin said drivers using SUVs have encountered issues when attempting to update their e-hailing permits.
Malaysian E-Hailing Association president Daryl Chong said there has been “nothing in black and white” so far, despite reaching out to Apad.
Grab Malaysia also confirmed that its driver-partners had recently encountered restrictions when attempting to register SUVs for e-hailing.
The matter came to light after an undisclosed number of new SUV e-hailing drivers who were in the process of applying for their public-service vehicle (PSV) licence were disallowed from registering their vehicles.
Others similarly affected were existing e-hailing drivers who had switched from non-SUVs to SUVs.
JPJ did not respond to requests for clarification from The Star, while Apad declined to comment, when both agencies under the ministry were contacted earlier in the week.
In the statement, Loke also said Apad had never issued any directive restricting the use of SUVs for e-hailing purposes.
“The ministry also understands the concerns raised among e-hailing drivers and operators, and we assure them that vehicle registration procedures will continue as usual in accordance with existing rules and guidelines,” he said.
