Gig worker protection to be strengthened in Malaysia

Malaysia is looking to formally regulate the food delivery sector, with the transport ministry entering the final stages of amending legislation that would better protect delivery workers and enforce stronger regulations on operators.

“The bill to amend the relevant act has been approved but it is now in the final stage to amend the act and we will make sure that the amendments will be successful after being debated later,” said Caretaker Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.

“The purpose of the government to amend the act is to enable this service to have a body that is specific to the service that has had some problems before,” he told reporters, reported New Straits Times.

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Under the new regulations, both the operator and rider will need to be registered and have a licence, but the mechanism of owning the licence will be simplified. The ministry will also ensure that food couriers are also protected with a social security scheme offered by the Social Security Organisation (Socso).