PETALING JAYA, July 25 – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has requested a week’s time to meet with all ride-hailing companies to discuss the issue of declining hiring and delivery rates, which are said to be putting a strain on ride-hailing workers. The Prime Minister stated that he wants to obtain direct explanations from the relevant companies regarding the situation, which has been seen as burdensome for ride-hailing workers. “For me, within a week, I will call all the ride-hailing companies, I will meet them at the Prime Minister’s Office, I want to convey your views.
“I need to ask these companies why the wages have decreased from RM7 to RM6… they have to explain that to the Prime Minister. That’s what I can do to ease your burden,” he said. He made these remarks during the Anwar Meet session as part of the Madani Selangor Rider Gathering Program, attended by Selangor Chief Minister Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari and around 5,000 riders from across Selangor. Anwar also mentioned that the government has allocated RM1 million to appoint an informal secretariat to coordinate issues related to ride-hailing delivery workers to ensure their welfare is protected.
“To ensure that this program (aid to ride-hailing workers) continues, I don’t want it to be a one-off thing, for a start, we will have an informal committee to coordinate gig rider activities, and I have allocated RM1 million for that today (Saturday). “This is important, otherwise, it will be disorganized, so (to address) the problems of ride-hailing delivery workers, issues with loans, facilities, insurance, and SOCSO,” he said. Anwar emphasized that ride-hailing delivery workers can choose a suitable party to be appointed as the secretariat to represent them.
