KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia taxi drivers will be the country's newest cultural ambassadors after Prime Minister Najib Razak announced a new initiative to help tourists' perceptions increase in a positive manner for Malaysia. According to Razak, taxi drivers are the “pulse of the ecosystem” within tourism and the fact they meet and interact on a regular basis with tourists makes them natural for being ambassadors for Malaysia. “If taxi drivers are polite, courteous and customer-friendly, speak good things about the country and show a positive attitude, tourists will feel welcome,” the PM said while launching the Tourism Taxi Ambassadors program at Dataran Putra on Wednesday. “Tourists meet thousands of taxi drivers and through their interactions, tourists' perception of Malaysia is formed," he said. Razak said his government believes the appointment of taxi drivers as the frontline for tourist relations will help make the initial arrival in the country easier for foreigners. He said that taxi drivers have “been trained and given guidance on how to project a good image and treat their customers well, thus by following it, they can help elevate Malaysia's image to higher levels.” The program had been officially launched in March and as of June 28, some 2,315 taxi drivers had been selected to undergo training. Local media reported that in total, 4,000 drivers will become ambassadors, upon completion of a course by the Malaysian Tourism Center. Razak also said the plight and welfare of taxi drivers will “always be taken care of by the government,” and announced a RM35 million incentive for 67,000 taxi drivers nationwide under the Teksi Rakyat 1Malaysia (1Malaysia People's Taxi) program last month.
