Today, Singapore and the Singaporean communities globally are celebrating National Day. This Singapore National Day is celebrated every August 9th each year to commemorate the independence of Singapore from Malaysia in the 1960s. It has since become a day of unity, pride, and celebration, marked by parades, fireworks, and cultural events.
However, over in Malaysia, the country’s ride-hailing drivers are taking the essence of Singapore National Day very seriously.
Around 70 percent of cross-border rideshare drivers in Malaysia – or drivers in Malaysia that accept passengers who wish to visit Singapore – have reportedly decided to suspend their services for Singapore National Day 2025, China Press stated.
Meanwhile, others have already canceled bookings and are not accepting bookings until after the holiday.
There are areas in Singapore that could be accessible by land and by cross-border, such as Penang. Several passengers touring Singapore prefer Malaysian drivers due to their convenience, flexible pick-up arrangements, and competitive prices. But, they’d have to let go of them for now.
China Press noted that the move follows intensified enforcement by the Land Transportation Authority of Singapore against illegal ride-hailing services operating between Malaysia and Singapore.
So, it’s not just because the Malaysian drivers are enforcing the essence of the holiday, but the Malaysian news outlet also emphasized that these strict enforcement measures have prompted those drivers to inform passengers their bookings, should they be in parallel with National Day, would have to be cancelled, even if they’ve made prior reservations.
In other words, this move was not planned in the long term and only came about recently.
One Malaysian driver spoke with the press that they won’t break the rule because of the tough penalties that await.
Cars suspected of violating the guideline will be impounded and drivers will face heavy punishments.
The driver told Ridesharing Forum how more than 60 Malaysian cross-border chartered vehicle drivers were stopped by authorities earlier this week and their cars confiscated due to the violation.
“Originally, there were many bookings for the Singapore National Day public holiday, but this recent enforcement operation has been the most severe yet. Many drivers now don’t dare take the risk,” the driver further noted.
There are no official confirmation whether Grab Malaysia is part of this crackdown.