Cabbies, bus drivers say demos are a nuisance

Taxi drivers who ply the city's streets for a living have expressed concern over plans to hold demonstrations that are politically motivated and have no solid reason.

For them, demonstrations held in the capital threaten their source of income, especially with a decline in tourists flocking the country.

Taxi driver Abd Karim Musa, 60, told Bernama that his job allowed him to meet with lots of people and it was most unpleasant to hear tourists voice fears for their safety.

"It's embarassing when a tourist, who set foot in Kuala Lumpur for the first time, asked me if the city known to be peaceful and prosperous was actually like this during demonstrations such as Bersih last year," he said.

Mohd Salleh Mat Nor, 40, another taxi, said demonstrations organised by the opposition could not influence the public to support the opposition, which he alleged was known to be incapable of taking care of the people's welfare.

"We may not be highly educated but we realise that the government has provided much assistance to our people. Even taxi drivers like us are not neglected and are given tyre subsidy vouchers worth RM520 and Personal Accident Insurance Coverage," he added.

Bus drivers in the city also shared the same sentiments as they too suffered the negative consequences of oppostion-led demonstrations.

Metro Bus driver Wija Hadi, 40, said such activities were a nuisance.

"Do they not have better things to do? It is a nuisance. Because of a demonstration, everyone is stuck, roads are congested and we bus drivers are also burdened by this," he said.

Another bus driver, Shaiful Samsudin, 30, said he hoped the demonstration would be cancelled as it put their income on the line.

"We hope the demonstration is cancelled. There are many other ways to make opinions heard," he said.

They were commenting on the opposition's plan to hold a gathering, Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat, at the Merdeka Stadium on Saturday.