TAXI drivers Ravichandran Doraisamy, 57, and Morgan Doraisamy, 56, are of full praise for Perai assemblyman Datuk Seri Sundarajoo Somu, who has kept his promise of solving their woes.
The siblings expressed their gratitude for Sundarajoo’s assistance in improving their taxi station located in front of Megamall Perai, which had fallen into disrepair and required maintenance work.
“Prior to the election, we shared our problems with him when he came here during the election campaign.
“He told us that he would look into the matter after the election and just a week after the state election, the upgrading work was done.
“YB Sundarajoo has delivered on his promise, and surely he has our unwavering support,” Ravichandran said during an interview with the Buletin Mutiara team on Sept 6.
According to Morgan, the taxi station has existed since the establishment of the Megamall Perai decades ago.
“Just one and a half years ago, the station’s roofing became worn out, resulting in water leakage that could have potentially posed a danger to the electrical components.
“Thankfully, YB Sundarajoo swiftly rectified the situation,” Morgan added.
In addition to their appreciation, Ravichandran and Morgan also shared the challenges faced by taxi drivers and hoped for increased incentives from the state government.
“On weekends, we can get a maximum of 4 to 5 trips, while on weekdays, we may even go without any trips.
“With the rising cost of living, we hope that the state government can raise the one-off payment for taxi drivers from RM600 to RM1,000.
“We also hope for an allocation for taxi drivers in the national Budget,” they said, while expressing gratitude for the state government’s support.
Apart from that, Ravichandran and Morgan said there is a significant decrease in the number of taxi drivers at Megamall Perai.
In the past, their association, named ‘Persatuan Kebajikan Pemandu-Pemandu Teksi dan Kereta Sewa Megamall Perai,’ used to organise community programmes and contributed to charitable causes.
“We had even organised a show and contributed the proceeds to a Tamil school.
“The main objective of establishing the association was to provide benefits to the family members of the taxi drivers, such as contributions for funeral expenses.
“Previously, we also gave Deepavali bonuses and financial assistance for their children’s education,” said Morgan, who also serves as secretary of the association.
Ravichandran, the chairman of the association, said: “Now, we can only contribute to funeral expenses.
“We are no longer able to do what we used to do before.
“Previously, we used to collect RM40 to RM50 monthly from our members, but now they can hardly pay RM20 per month,” he added.
Ravichandran and Morgan expressed their hope that efforts could be made to standardise fees between taxis and e-hailing services to support their livelihoods.
Story by Tanushalini Moroter
Pix by G. Revatic