By STEPHEN COSTAM, Kuala Lumpur

Rude and arrogant taxi drivers who do not use the meters are giving tourists a headache.

AS a frequent visitor to Kuala Lumpur, I am writing to you because of the deplorable service provided by Malaysian taxis.

Taxi drivers in KL are mostly rude, arrogant, intimidating at times and totally ruled by greed for the tourist dollar. In fact they should be the front-line ambassadors in the tourism industry as visitors to this country have to interact with them constantly, but that is a role they have no wish to play.

Most taxi drivers, in my experience, will not use their meters -- only in two of the 25 taxis I used during my 10-day visit to Malaysia did the drivers use the meter. Unmetered taxi charges varied from RM10-RM25 for short trips within KL city.

At the Starhill taxi stand, I observed 10 tourists walking up to taxis to inquire about trips and fares. All 10 walked away after probably having been asked some exorbitant fare.

I hate having to travel in a taxi in KL and I probably won't return here. I think the authorities need to do something very quickly to address this issue because it creates a really bad image.

The last thing one wants to do on holiday is deal with rude and cheating taxi drivers.

Apart from this problem I had a delightful time in your country.