KUALA LUMPUR: Transport Minister Loke Siew Fook said today that the proposal to bring e-hailing motorcycle taxi service Go-jek to Malaysia will be discussed by the Cabinet.
Loke said Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman would table the proposal to the Cabinet while his ministry will take over in studying the framework should the Cabinet agree.
“We heard their proposal, which I found interesting, but we need to further analyse and discuss the execution mechanism,” Loke said after flagging off the four-car monorail at the KL Sentral monorail station here.
“As Syed Saddiq said yesterday, he will raise this issue to be discussed further with the Cabinet, and we will hear the opinions of the Cabinet.”
Yesterday, Syed Saddiq said he and Go-jek founder Nadiem Makarim had met Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Loke to propose starting operations in Malaysia.
In a social media post, Syed Saddiq said the contributions of motorcyclists to the nation should not be underestimated, adding that they wanted jobs and to be looked after.
Loke said the government would not dismiss any possibilities before studying the proposal, acknowledging that he had said just last year that Putrajaya was not ready to introduce e-hailing motorcycle taxis.
“While there is genuine concerns over safety, we can study how we can ensure better safety for all,” he said.
He added that his main focus is on strengthening the current public transportation system.
“The main challenge for us is the lack of first- and last-mile connectivity, which is the distance between the people’s houses to the station.
“So we are looking at it from this point of view, whether or not the proposal can solve the problem of first- and last-mile connectivity.”
He acknowledged Syed Saddiq’s stand on creating jobs for motorcyclists, but said he was responsible for the aspects of safety and operations.
If Go-jek’s proposal is allowed, he added, other e-hailing motorcycle taxi services will be allowed to operate as well to prevent a monopoly of the industry.
In 2017, the government banned e-hailing motorcycle taxi service Dego Ride over safety concerns for motorcyclists and pillion riders.
The transport ministry said an analysis found that the risk of motorcyclists being involved in fatal accidents was 42.5 times higher compared to that of buses and 16 times higher than that of cars.