THE Rahmah p-hailing package announced by the government two days ago is believed able to lower the rage over several issues plaguing the p-hailing community lately, said an activist.
Malaysian eHailing Alliances chief activist Jose Rizal told Bernama that the low payment rates for food riders by a private company had become a dilemma for some food riders, and as such, such an intervention by the government was welcomed.
According to Jose, this indirectly eased the workload in the gig economy sector, with online services with internet access being one of the community’s needs.
“E-hailing and p-hailing workers may have a rather dynamic way of using the Internet because our average community is active in multiple tasks or work. For me it helps some of our community,” he told the news agency.
On Tuesday (Jan 23) Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil announced that all p-hailing drivers and riders will be able to enjoy internet services for as low as RM33 with a data plan of at least 40GB under the Rahmah p-hailing package being offered from now until April 23.
Fahmi said over 200,000 p-hailing drivers and riders stand to benefit from the newly-launched Rahmah p-hailing package, adding that it will revolutionise the evolving gig economy.
According to Fahmi, the unique feature of the package is that it can be tailored to meet the specific needs of riders and drivers.
On this matter Jose expressed hope that such initiatives could be expanded to continue securing the fate of the p-hailing community and further empowering the country’s gig economy sector.
“I hope the government can consider initiatives such as vehicle maintenance, costs related to licence renewal, insurance, health checks, as well as the cost of equipment for activities such as food storage bags, helmets and others,” he said.
Echoing Jose, Malaysian Association of Grab Drivers deputy president Mohd Azril Ahmat suggested the government extend the Rahmah Menu to gig economy industry players because of its potential to provide more profit to traders.
“The government has given a lot of subsidies to the people as well as the target groups, but I think the government can expand the Rahmah Menu, which seems to be getting a lukewarm response from traders now, to this group,” he remarked.
Mohd Azril also said he hoped that the internet access in rural areas could be further improved.
“Jobs like this (p-hailing and e-hailing) really, really need stable internet access…If there is no line, no jobs will come in,” he stressed. – Jan 25, 2024
Main pic credit: The Star
