As the sharing economy becomes prevalent in our community, unchecked business practices can potentially destroy healthy working industries that will leave many stakeholders exposed, especially the most vulnerable part of the society, the B40 where majority work for these platforms as riders, cleaners and taxi drivers.
MDEC was kind enough to host a sharing session to gather inputs from platform owners that provide services from despatch, tourism, domestic services, rides to find out what can the government do to make this sharing economy benefits all stakeholders involved.
Maideasy prides in taking the lead by introducing many guidelines that we aim to protect the crew under Maideasy, its customers and the business itself that it remains healthily profitable for it to be sustainable in the long run.
In the sharing session, I talked mainly the need to impose regulations that restricts monopoly (as we are seeing the race to be the Super App), price dumping, better employment act that protects the part timers or contractors that work in these platforms and a revised data protection act that data obtained from both the part timers and customers will not be misused. I also insist in making sure the institutions that govern business practices remain credible and strong.
As a platform owner, I would definitely like to see my business thrive and last into the long run. However, we are also responsible to those who work for us as well as our customers.
Recent developments in law and order and employment laws in Europe that governs especially the gig economy has a lot to teach us. I point the direction how the UK government requires Uber be bounded by TFL rules and regulations that makes sure taxi drivers are protected by law.
Platforms has immense power to influence supply and demand forces in especially determining the price in the market paid by the customers, and money paid to those who perform the task. Many well funded companies that carries to live on on investor’s money choose the path to destroy smaller and possibly more efficient players, by price dumping. I’m all for a healthy competition, but this unnatural subsidising model disrupts the natural workings of healthy competition. In a healthy competition, prices are driven down by a decrease in cost related to providing the product and services, or better value in the services offered.
Maideasy has been fully aware of this, and if I may say, it has been a miracle that we have survived this long with so little investor money. We made sure to work in providing more value, in achieving operational excellence as well as taking the moral high ground in introducing best practices in the domestic services industry. These missions are conveyed effectively to those who use Maideasy, and we have made it a mission for the customers who use our services to be involved in this mission.
I hope to see Malaysia thrive as a competitive business environment that is healthy, and all stakeholders protected. This way, in the long run, everyone benefits.