SPAD: Vital to have e-hailing bills passed in next Parliament session

PETALING JAYA: The recent case of an Uber driver who robbed a pregnant passenger has made it all the more important for laws pertaining to e-hailing services to be passed in the next Parliament sitting.
Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar said as it stood currently, the commission’s hands are tied as the present law does not permit it to take action against perpetrators or the service providers.
“If they are regulated, we can supervise them better and even check their drivers’ records and what not. At present, e-hailing services don’t come under us. But the recent incident shows that it is more important than ever for them to be regulated.
“The bills were supposed to be debated at the previous Parliament session, but apparently there was a lack of time. I really hope it will be debated and passed in the next sitting in July,” he told theSun today.
The bills to amend the Land Transport Act 2010 and the Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board Act 1987 were tabled for first reading in March, and is expected to be followed up in the July sitting.
He was commenting on an incident involving 26-year-old Wong Mei Yan who was robbed at knife point on her way home on May 21 by her Uber driver and his accomplice, she subsequently suffered a miscarriage following the traumatic incident.
Syed Hamid said he had also met with representatives from Uber on Monday, but that it was all done “within the limit of our current jurisdiction”.
“We have written a very strong letter to them, and of course we have called them up. We met them yesterday, but it was all just persuasive in manner.
“We told them this should not have happened, and to make sure there is no repeat incident. But that’s about it,” he said.