KUALA LUMPUR – The National Courier Accelerator Plan (Pakej) initiated by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will focus on adopting the three-wheeled vehicle as a main transportation method in order to increase the efficiency and quality of courier services.
Chairman Fadhlullah Suhaimi Abdul Malek said a three-wheeler has the ability to transport three times the number of parcels compared with a motorcycle, and half the number of parcels transported by a normal van.
“In terms of cost, operating a three-wheeler would land somewhere between that of operating a motorcycle and a van, and it would have the ability to transport more parcels per route than a motorcycle, especially to the rural areas,” he said in a special interview on Pakej recently.
According to Fadhlullah, many countries have adopted the same method using electric three-wheelers, such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, New Zealand and Singapore.
“The challenge is now to get an approval from the Transport Ministry and Road Transport Department to ensure the safety of the courier riders and road users are guaranteed.
“Discussions have been initiated and are ongoing, and we hope it won’t take too long for the authorities to approve the use of three-wheelers as a mode of transport for courier services,” he added.
Pakej, a five-year roadmap launched in June, is set to enhance the quality of courier services (QoS) and seamless coverage to support the e-commerce industry’s growth to double parcels per capita to 30 by 2025.
Pakej comes with eight initiatives within two pillars, which are, firstly, to help drive the industry’s sustainability, and secondly to provide QoS and coverage-backed growth for the consumer.
“Pakej is one way to help small courier companies to compete in a better environment, have the ability to grow at a lower cost, and maintain the pricing of services,” said Fadhlullah.
He said MCMC will table Pakej reports on a quarterly basis, with the first-quarter report scheduled to be out for public review by next month.
“The report will include all updates on the eight initiatives set out under Pakej, and we hope to get much support and feedback from consumers and also industry players that run the ecosystem,” he said.
Meanwhile, this year, Fadhlullah said, MCMC has received more than 13,000 consumer complaints regarding courier services, with 86% of them being about poor services by courier providers.
“As a comparison, throughout 2020, we received 13,000 complaints about the courier services, but for this year, as of August and closing to only the third quarter of the year, we received the same number of complaints as last year.
“That is the reason Pakej is in place, so we can work together with the industry to improve the service. We hope to see the impact from next year onwards,” said Fadhlullah. – Bernama, August 18, 2021
