KUALA LUMPUR: Food delivery riders will have a more secure future if they agree with the proposal to set up a cooperative to better protect their welfare، says Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
“There are a lot of food delivery riders، and it’s the delivery companies that profits، ” said the Entrepreneur Development and Co-operatives Minister after launching the Tekun Mobilepreneur programme on Tuesday (July 7).
“I’m proposing that the delivery riders form a cooperative where their companies form a consortium to buy shares in it، ” he said.
Food delivery riders would have a long-term source of income if they had a cooperative of their own، he said.
He also said his ministry would be working with the National Entrepreneur Group Economic Fund (Tekun) to study the proposal.
On a separate matter، Wan Junaidi said 250 food delivery riders had been provided with RM2،000 interest-free loans to repair their motorcycles under the Tekun Mobilepreneur programme.
He added that five delivery riders were given RM10،000 interest-free loans to purchase new motorcycles، with another 48 applications awaiting approval.
Bungkusit rider Nurul Shahidah Abdul Kadir، 23، said the RM2،000 loan came in handy after she damaged her motorcycle in a recent accident while on delivery in Putrajaya.
“The loan came at the perfect time to help me cover the cost of repairs which was RM700.
“I can use the remainder money to help me survive as deliveries have started to slow down during the Covid-19 recovery period، ” said the lass from Putrajaya.
Another recipient was GrabFood rider، N. Kesavan، 39، who said he would use the money to maintain his motorcycle.
The father of two from Tropicana Selatan said that he was also happy to get the loan as it would help his family tide things over during the recovery period.
Foodpanda rider Suratul Hajar Mohd Nasir، 28، from Selayang، said the loan was timely as deliveries had slowed down after the recovery period began.
“I do about 30 deliveries a day now compared to almost double of that when the movement control order was implemented in March، ” she added.
-The Star