Wednesday September 12, 2012
He’d give his right arm
A DISABLED man, who yearns to make an honest living driving a taxi, has expressed disappointment after his application for a taxi permit was rejected by the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD).
Chang Chon Vooy, 39, suffered a debilitating injury, which left him with a partial disability in his right arm, due to an accident in 2009.
“I used to work as a limousine driver for six years from 2004 in a tour agency until I was hit by a car while riding a motorcycle along Jalan Datuk Keramat that year.
“I was hospitalised for a month and took about a year to recover fully. I then decided to work as a taxi driver and submitted two applications for commercial vehicles to SPAD in August 2011 and March this year but was rejected.
Driven to survive: Chang (right) showing his partially disabled right arm during the press conference. Looking on is Lim. “I am now forced to drive a taxi sapu to earn money to support my family comprising my 28-year-old wife and two children aged five and 12,” he told a press conference at the Penang MCA headquarters in Pahang Road yesterday.
Chang said despite the disability, his left arm is strong and he can still drive without any problem.
“I hope to obtain the licence as I do not want to be caught driving a taxi sapu. I must feed my family. I work between eight and nine hours daily and can earn up to RM100 on a good day.”
Chang will submit an application for the third time to the SPAD office in Sungai Petani as he was told by other taxi drivers that the commission will release another 500 permits soon.
Penang MCA Public Services and Complaints Bureau deputy chief Lim Thoon Deong said he will send a letter to SPAD to appeal on behalf of Chang to ensure the latter would be given a permit.
“His application was rejected without a valid reason. SPAD should be more transparent and therefore, needs to amend its application processes to ensure applicants who fulfil the criteria are given the permit,” he said.
SPAD officials could not be reached to comment.
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