Govt must regulate gig economy platforms, but with stakeholders’ input

 

The government should not rush to enforce rules, says Economic Action Council Malaysia executive director Noor Azlan Ghazali.

PETALING JAYA: The government must regulate digital gig economy platforms such as Grab and others, but not without proper consultation with stakeholders.

Economic Action Council (EAC) Malaysia executive director Noor Azlan Ghazali admitted that some kind of regulation is necessary, but the government should not rush to enforce rules without proper engagement.

He said there must be discussions across the board to understand the complexities of the gig economy, fearing that without this, the government may end up stalling its progress.

“Sorry to say, but I’ve seen governments jumping in to carve out rules based on their own perspective,” he said during the “Gig Economy in Southeast Asia: Empower or Exploit?” forum organised by Grab Conversations and the International Labour Organisation today.

EAC Malaysia executive director Noor Azlan Ghazali.

“In Malaysia, we see the ministry of transport come in, and so do the ministries of human resources, and communications and multimedia, and everybody feels like there is something here for them to regulate.

“What I worry is, if there’s not enough engagement with service providers and players, we might end up stalling progress.

“My perspective is that we need to sit down together to have a common discussion, understand how things work and be fair to all,” he said, adding that he hoped to see higher-end gig workers with better pay in the future.

Meanwhile, Grab group managing director, public affairs, Lim Yew Heng said government regulation for the gig economy is crucial.

He added that in Grab’s case, it must play a balancing act between affordability to consumers and sustainability of the platform “not to maximise profits, but to provide adequate returns on investment for investors.”

Lim agreed that there needs to be coordination with the government in regulating the gig sector.

“The government needs to regulate the gig economy correctly,” he said.

Some 40% of the Malaysian workforce are in the informal sector, making up about 5.9 million people. They include freelancers, gig workers, those paid in cash and other similar workers.

Many MPs and NGOs have called for better social safety nets for the group, saying gig workers are more vulnerable. - FMT