The National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA) appointed its new executive committee at the association’s inaugural General Convention of Delegates on 4 October 2017 at D’Resort.
The new committee will take over from the pro tem executive committee, which steered the association since it was formally established in May 2016. The new committee will hold a four-year term of office until 2021.
Pro tem Committee Member Mohamad Azan Salleh will take over the role of president from Harry Koh. Shawn Ng, who was the pro tem general secretary, will retain the position. William Ong will replace pro tem General Treasurer Mohammad Ashiq, while pro tem Committee Member Kevin Ang will take on the role of deputy president.
“The new committee will focus on bringing in more members so that we can better represent drivers and gather more feedback to better serve them. The association will continue to look for more like-minded drivers who have the heart to serve fellow drivers and give them the opportunity to contribute to the association,” said Mr Ng.
Membership Growth
Delivering the general secretary report, Mr Ng revealed that the association has grown to 3,652 members as of 1 October 2017, up from the 23 members when it was first formed in 2016.
The association aims to achieve a membership of 5,000 by the end of the year.
“In its 18 months, NPHVA has organised outreach efforts at areas where we could find drivers. However, we soon realised that we needed to increase our presence as we could only be at one place at a time. That was why we created an online sign up on Facebook. We were also in touch with Grab, whom we found was committed to caring for its drivers,” he said.
Forging Ties
In his speech, NPHVA Executive Advisor S Thiagarajan said that stronger ties between the National Taxi Association (NTA) and NPHVA need to be forged moving forward.
“Taxi and ride-sharing companies are getting into strategic partnerships. There are calls to level the playing field between taxis and private hire vehicles. Eventually, there could be a single vocational licence for both types of vehicles.
“In the longer term, say in the next 10 to 15 years, autonomous vehicles will impact both private hire vehicles and taxis. These are issues of common concern to both NPHVA and the NTA. We need to forge ties, exchange information and find the best way forward to address issues of mutual concern,” he said.
