KUALA LUMPUR – The regulation on food and parcel delivery services will be implemented regardless of whether Covid-19 is still around next year.
Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) director-general Azlan Shah Al Bakri said this is done “for the sake of safety”, but stressed that the implementation is not immediate and can take up to a year.
This is in response to Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s call for the Transport Ministry to review its plan to regulate operators of food and parcel delivery services next year amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We will not wait until after Covid-19 is over. This regulation is about safety. We want to make sure there is a safety standard embedded (in the regulation).
“Yes, of course, we will take into account the pandemic and how this affects the deliverers in paying for their licensing fees and others. But as far as postponing the regulation is concerned, this question does not arise.
“Like I said, this is for the sake of safety. And on that note, it (regulation) must be expedited,” he told The Vibes yesterday.
It is understood that APAD will be overseeing the licensing part of the regulation.
Deputy Transport Minister Hasbi Habibollah, when contacted, did not comment on Muhyiddin’s statement beyond saying the ministry “took note” of the advice.
In a Facebook post on November 24, Muhyiddin had urged the Transport Ministry to review the plan to regulate e-delivery services, also known as p-hailing, following a meeting with a group of Grab drivers and riders.
He said many in the group were earning significantly less due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and that they faced difficulty in obtaining financial loans and government aid due to the nature of their occupation.
This comes just four days after The Vibes reported that food and parcel delivery services in the country will be regulated by the Road Transport Department (RTD) from January 1, with discussions already in the working stage.
Azlan now said the implementation will not come so soon, seeing that several amendments needed to be made to existing laws and that the matter is still being deliberated at the policy level.
“It will take quite a long time, not two or three months. It’s just like when we wanted to regulate the e-hailing industry, it took us a year.
“It’s not immediate. We are still studying (it). Our report will be presented to the cabinet, before they decide to table it in Parliament.”
On the licensing, Azlan said APAD is in the midst of studying the fee that will be imposed on deliverers and operators, but said any decision will not be “burdensome”.
He added that the agency will engage with all stakeholders for input, including major players, such as Grab and Foodpanda, before the regulation comes into force. – The Vibes, December 3, 2020
