PETALING JAYA: The president of the Malaysian P-Hailing Delivery Riders Association (Penghantar) says the p-hailing community’s meeting with transport minister Wee Ka Siong has left them with more questions than answers.
Zulhelmi Mansor said not only were the p-hailing riders’ 10 issues not met, they now felt they will be burdened if amendments to the law requiring them to possess a goods vehicle licence (GDL) are passed.
“When the minister informed us about the GDL requirement, many of the riders started speaking up because they feel the main issues should be resolved first before looking at such requirements,” Utusan Malaysia quoted him as saying.
“We asked for one thing, and we got something else.”
Zulhelmi said among the 10 issues raised at the meeting were a floor price for delivery charges, and digital maps which have a different distance from the actual trip.
Food delivery riders were supposed to have gone on a nationwide strike last Thursday to protest against poor pay, prompting Wee to call for a meeting with them on Monday.
During the meeting, Wee said the transport ministry will table amendments to three Acts to protect the welfare and interest of riders.
He said the bills, if passed, will make it mandatory for p-hailing riders to have a GDL licence just like the public service vehicle (PSV) licence mandated for e-hailing drivers.
He said the amendments will involve lowering the eligible age for obtaining the GDL from 21 to 18, thus allowing more riders to join the industry.
The GDL requirement, he said, will allow the ministry to keep track of the number of p-hailing riders.
A representative from Thursday’s protest, Mohd Firdaus Abdul Hamid, 30, said the proposed amendment will only put more pressure on the p-hailing community.
“We are already under pressure from (our) companies, and now the government is also doing the same. We do not agree with the proposed amendments,” he said in the report.
“The reasoning behind it – that the ministry wants to find out the actual number of riders so as to take care of our welfare – is illogical.
“P-hailing riders are already required to contribute to the Social Security Organisation’s (Socso) Self-Employment Social Security Scheme (SKSPS), so why can’t the government find out the actual number of riders from there?”
Another rider, Adi Alzam Roslan, 27, said the government should focus on providing solutions to the problems faced by the group rather than coming up with new laws.
Stating that while riders support the government’s measures to help ensure their welfare, he felt that requiring them to get a GDL “is not the solution”.
