By Kazi Mahmood, IOL South Asia Correspondent

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (IslamOnline) - Malaysian cabbies are under constant pressure to adopt fresh ways to carry on their duties without raising the anger of the Transport ministry and of the public in general, a recent communiqué from the ministry said, news agencies reports on Sunday, September 15.

Taxi drivers have been under fire for overcharging tourists visiting the country. They have also been criticized for their lack of professionalism and their refusal to take passengers during peak hours or rainy days.

Some passengers even complained the taxi driver’s smoke in their cabs, which is not allowed in Malaysia.

However, not all taxi drivers are to blame for the current ‘messy’ situation in the cabby industry, an industry that has seen its growth level in seesaw since the 1997 economic crash.

Taxi services are normally efficient in certain specific areas of Kuala Lumpur and as well as the state of Selangor. Moreover, an over supply of cabs in the posh and business regions of these two states affects the services in other regions, raising more complaints from taxi users.

A month ago, newspapers highlighted the “heavy” criticism by the Tourism minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir who said the cheats among taxi drivers are as 'communists' and 'traitors to our country' who should be 'lined up against the wall and shot'.

These comments have raised the anger of taxi drivers in the Kuala Lumpur in particular, where more tourists are seen. A newspaper finding said that 70 per cent of cabbies cheated foreign visitors, prompting the minister’s outrage.

Taxi associations and taxi drivers has called on the minister to retract from his “shoot them” statement and has asked him to apologize, which he has refused to do, prompting a small protest of taxi drivers near his office.

He, nevertheless, back paddled and said his ministry appreciated their contributions to the tourism industry.

'I think not more than 10 per cent of cab drivers cheat their customers. However, 10 per cent can spoil the whole group and then cause reduced income for everyone, including the hotel and restaurant industry,' he told reporters last week according to Malaysiakini.

Nonetheless, his comments received support foreigners, who wrote to local newspapers to complain about poor service and cited alleged cheating cases.

In one case, a foreigner said he was forced to pay US50 for a trip that usually costs US10, adding that this situation might deter other tourists to even visit Malaysia if they cabbies were left unchecked.

Malaysians enjoy one of the cheapest taxi services in the South East Asian region, excluding the Philippines probably. This is because petrol is subsidized in Malaysia and most of the taxis are locally made cars from the Proton car making company.

Since 1997, taxi new guidelines issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and the Ministry of Transport has been jealously followed taxi drivers. Now in Malaysia taxi drivers are smartly dressed in white shirts and black pants, a must for all taxi drivers and taxi companies.

According to the Minister of Tourism, taxi drivers play an important role as they are among the first people that tourists meet on arrival in the country. Their role is even more important at a time when tourist arrivals are down due to the effect of Sept 11 and the global economic malaise he added.

Arrivals dropped by 8 percent from January to July, compared with the same period a year ago. Malaysia notched a new record in arrivals last year of 12.7 million, up 25 per cent compared with 2000, the Singapore Straits Times said.

'When tourists take their seat in your taxi, it provides you with a golden opportunity to tell them about your country,' he said.

At one point, taxi drivers were urged not to discuss politics with foreigners in particular, since a study by the Ministry of Transport found that tourists were given the impression Malaysia was a country of persecution.