SHAH ALAM: The Covid-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the economy causing many to lose their jobs, but there is still hope for those affected to pursue a new job opportunity provided by Pos Malaysia.
The Pos Rider initiative, introduced in September 2019 to smoothen its parcel delivery capacity, has also created job opportunities for those who lost their sources of income during the movement control order (MCO) by appointing 1,400 Pos Rider agents during that period alone.
Among the agents appointed by Pos Malaysia is Chairil Anwar Sabar, who said: “My new job is very different from what I did before. Now I don’t have to wear a suit and I don’t work in an air-conditioned office. But I am happy and enjoy meeting all kinds of people every day.”
As a Pos Rider, he said, he could earn up to RM2,500 a week if he works hard from Monday to Saturday and makes about 150 parcel deliveries a day.
“In four weeks, it is possible to make about RM10,000. It’s not a lowly job and I am not ashamed to be a Pos Rider,” he said.
Chairil said that when he first became a Pos Rider agent, he worked on a part-time basis but decided to pursue it full-time when he realised its income potential.
“I can now take care of my family and settle my debts,” he said.
Based on the Social Security Organisation’s (Socso) Employment Insurance System statistics, a total of 79,737 individuals have lost their jobs as of Sept 10. Malaysia’s unemployment rate also rose to 4.9% in June from 3.3% in February.
Muhammad Hafidz Ahmad Fadzil, 33, also became a Pos Rider agent after quitting his job as a lecturer at a private college when he had to take a substantial pay cut during the MCO.
“I decided to resign and look for another job. It wasn’t easy to find a job then and I had to borrow money from my parents to survive,” he said, adding that things changed for the better after he came upon a Pos Rider advertisement on Facebook.
“It has now become my permanent job and, best of all, I am earning twice as much as I used to when I was a lecturer.
“I am able to repay the money I took from my parents and am even helping a younger sibling who is facing financial hardship,” he said, adding that he is also able to spend more time with his family now.
Hafidz said Pos Rider agents were allowed to keep 100% of the commission they earn from each parcel delivery. “Pos Malaysia is really helping people like me who lost their jobs as it doesn’t take any percentage of the commission we earn.”
Postal Services CEO Mohamed Rozaidi Md Sharif said the agents played a critical role during the MCO, helping Pos Malaysia deal with the surge in parcel volume.
“We are happy that the Pos Rider programme fulfils its objective in providing job opportunities to the communities around us and, at the same time, helps to keep our costs low for us to continue offering accessible postal services to customers,” he said. -FMT