‘Don’t make rules difficult for riders’

Operators: Plan to regulate p-hailing should help them, not burden them

clarissachung@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: Operators of p-hailing (motorcycle parcel delivery) have spoken out about the government’s plan to regulate them, saying that such a move will be useful but must not be burdensome for riders.

Lalamove managing director Shen Ong said the registration of a p-hailing licences would be useful for government tracking purposes and individual accountability.

“It would be helpful if these licences can also be distributed by these p-hailing companies themselves, both in person and virtually.

“That way we can assist in taking the load off government agencies and at the same time, make things as efficient as possible,” he said.

“It will also be helpful in creating a larger registry of gig economy workers which can assist in building financial safety nets, healthcare support and income tax filings for them,” he said.

Last week, Deputy Transport Minister Hasbi Habibollah told the Dewan Rakyat that the government was drafting regulations to manage the growing p-hailing industry.

The rules, which are expected to be finalised by end of this year, were necessary as the current e-hailing licence did not cover parcel delivery services, he said.

Among the regulations, he said, were for p-hailing riders to obtain a public service vehicle (PSV) licence, undergo health screening and to have insurance coverage.

Ong, when contacted, said as most p-hailing drivers were gig workers, mandating complicated processes would discourage them from working in such a sector.

“It will be unhelpful to have any sort of mandatory reporting, payment and renewal of licences.

“Having workers obtain multiple licences for multiple platforms would be counter-intuitive,” said Ong, whose company has over 50,000 registered riders who are mostly part-timers.

Dego founder and chief executive officer Nabil Feisal Bamadhaj said there should be minimum standards for riders and vehicles to be officially recognised as part of the p-hailing industry.

“There should be minimum requirements for individuals to take part in the p-hailing sector, in terms of age, licence, having a clean track record, vehicle type,” he said when contacted.

However, he said it would not be helpful to stipulate restrictions on the service areas riders could work in.

“It would also be better to allow a rider the option of getting a bundled Socso protection if he or she works across different service areas, for instance in both the food delivery and car e-hailing sectors,” he said.

Bungkusit HR manager Azhar Zein said he welcomed any regulation relating to the safety of p-hailing riders.

“An example is the recent Socso coverage for riders, where the government subsidises 70% of the costs,” he said, adding that the health and safety of the drivers could be accounted for.

However, he said it would be burdensome if there was a hefty fee required for someone to be classified as a p-hailing driver.

“Motorcycle riders are generally unable to pay for testing, fees, special licences, so in regulating the industry and imposing these conditions, many riders may find themselves jobless,” he said.

He said his company had over 30,000 registered riders but less than 10% were active at any given moment.

A Grab spokesman said it was crucial for the government and gig platform providers to partner together to ensure the p-hailing sector continue to thrive.

“This will require innovation, policy adjustments and close collaboration across the public and private sectors to identify longerterm solutions such as social protection, financial access and security.

“These policies need to also protect the socioeconomic needs of consumers and the sustainability of the industry,” he said.

Open and clear communication, he said, needed to be developed between stakeholders in the p-hailing sector on the matter.