The Batu MP said it was normal for voters to say such things in the hope that their demands would be met by political parties.
“Why interpret this as a threat? Voters are the boss. It is normal for them to say that. The government should be humble,” he told FMT.
He said the same went for Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) settlers who might demand that the government settle corruption issues, or city folks wanting their local authorities to offer better services such as improving roads or drainage.
“It is very natural,” he added.
Tian Chua was asked to respond to Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who had said the government does not fear the threat by taxi drivers to vote for the opposition in the coming polls.
He said the government would find ways to help taxis compete with ride-hailing services like Uber and Grab.
The income of taxi drivers has dropped since Uber entered Malaysia in late 2013 and e-hailing services were fully legalised last year.
The deputy prime minister said the government was not siding with the providers of ride-sharing services, which are proving very popular.
“There is no need to make threats. We (Barisan Nasional) are not afraid of threats,” Zahid had said.
However, Tian Chua said this showed that the government was being arrogant.
“Everyone recognises there are problems within the taxi industry, especially with cleanliness, overcharging of fares and rejection of passengers.
“Unlike Uber and Grab, the government regulates taxi fares and the licensing of taxi companies. They should help to improve the services.”
Because of this, he said, the government should be humble and hear out the grievances of taxi drivers.
He added that taxi drivers want the government to start issuing individual permits to drive taxis.
Many drivers still need to lease from taxi companies at RM50 rental per day.
“It is unfortunate when politicians speak this way. They should instead be sympathising with their plight.”
As for PH, he said, if the opposition pact took over Putrajaya, it would look into individual taxi permits for taxi drivers, and have a system similar to e-hailing services for people to book taxi services.
“Right now, taxi drivers are unable to recover their expenses if it rains or if there is a jam. They turn down passengers or charge extra.”
Negative perception among voters
Penang Institute senior analyst Lim Chee Han said Zahid’s statement would create a negative perception among voters.
He said it was silly for Zahid to have made the remark as the poor who were struggling with the cost of living might not welcome it.
“It may have an adverse impact on marginal seats.”
He said taxi drivers were mostly concentrated in urban areas, and that offending them might cause a chain reaction as they would pass the wrong message to their passengers about the government.
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