Gojek given “green light” for motorbike ride-hailing in Malaysia

At its weekly meeting today, the Cabinet agreed “in principle” to allow for motorcycle ride-hailing services in Malaysia. This means that the popular Go-Jek service could be coming to Malaysia soon. According to Entrepreneur Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Yusof:

“Cabinet in principle has agreed for this ‘Go-Jek’ service to be implemented. The Youth and Sports Ministry and the Transport Ministry have been asked to work together and discuss what laws need to be amended or created to enable this service to be implemented in the country.”

Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman also confirmed the approval in a video in Twitter, thanking Tun Mahathir as well as Transport Minister, Anthony Loke:

The Youth and Sports Minister earlier called for the introduction of services such as Go-Jek into Malaysia, with the creation of more job opportunities one of the contributing factors.

“We are sincere in wanting to make sure mat motor get job opportunities, who are in the tens of thousands, while at the same time being able to assist the uncles and aunty vendors who run their businesses by selling their products through services like Go-Jek. This is also to help the young entrepreneurs, who with Go-Jek, will be able to sell their products through such services.”

With the rising costs of ride-hailing such as Grab, Go-Jek also offers a last-mile solution for commuters who need a cost-efficient way to travel from their homes to LRT or MRT stations. That being said, the Entrepreneur Development Minister also stressed the importance of implementing the service in accordance with road laws—thus ensuring, or at least aiding, road safety.

At the moment, Go-Jek’s parent company, PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa, has an estimated worth of US$10 billion (about RM42 billion), with Go-Jek having plans to expand their services in the region beyond Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand—and now Malaysia.

[ VIA ]