Sabah e-hailing, taxis can travel between some districts sans police permits

 

E-hailing vehicles and taxi drivers in Sabah can travel between the districts of Kota Kinabalu, Penampang and Putatan without a travel permit from the police, starting yesterday (June 23).

“The Sabah Covid-19 Disaster Management Committee also clarified in a statement that registered e-hailing vehicles and taxis with the requisite approvals based on the National Security Council's (NSC) standard operating procedures (SOPs) are allowed to travel between the districts of Kota Kinabalu, Putatan and Penampang without needing travel permits from the police from June 23, 2021.

“Nevertheless, all public transport operators and service providers in Sabah and Sarawak are reminded to adhere to the specific SOPs related to the respective states that govern their operations,” the Transport Ministry said in a statement issued yesterday.

This comes after an e-hailing driver in Sabah was issued with a compound of RM5,000 after encountering a police roadblock while transporting an essential worker across districts.

Previously, Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong said taxis and e-hailing vehicles are classified as essential services and permitted to operate with the requisite approvals.

Taxi drivers can obtain their approval letters via the Transport Ministry’s Logistics Industry Information System (Smile) whereas e-hailing drivers are issued the letters via their respective e-hailing operators.

However, Sabah SOPs state that all public transportation across districts is not allowed. Taxis and e-hailing services are considered public transportation services.

The Transport Ministry said in yesterday’s statement that Sabah and Sarawak have specific circumstances unique to them and thus can propose suitable SOPs for their own states.

“Due to specific circumstances unique to the states of Sabah and Sarawak, the respective states’ disaster management authorities are allowed to propose SOPs that best suit their local environments, to be approved and instructed by the Health Ministry’s director-general accordingly.

“As such, these SOPs may differ from those pertaining to and applicable in other parts of Malaysia,” the ministry said.

The Transport Ministry said SOPs are designed to suit the developing Covid-19 situation nationwide and, as such, they will be subject to updates from time to time. - Mkini

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