Gojek can boost e-commerce ecosystem -- Syed Saddiq

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16  -- Transportation services like Gojek can help boost the e-commerce ecosystem in the country, said Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

He said countries like  Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia had made two-wheel transportation networks a  platform to spur the digital economy in their countries.

"If we look at Thailand, they had the best e-commerce delivery system (in the region) before the Grab bike service and Gojek joined...before the two (Grab and Gojek) came on board, they were handling about 10,000 packages a day but the number increased four-fold thereafter.

"This means small-time entrepreneurs can enjoy the benefits because the e-commerce economy grows rapidly. If we go to Bangkok, Indonesia or Vietnam, the people can order food at stalls to be delivered to their homes. We want this ecosystem because it can help the smaller players,” he told Bernama today.

Earlier, the minister had appeared  as a guest on Bernama TV to discuss the subject  'Why the need for Gojek'  together with Bernama chairman  Datuk Seri Azman Ujang, Bernama Editor-in-Chief Datuk Mokhtar Hussain and senior editors, at Wisma Bernama here.

Syed Saddiq, who has been pushing for the Gojek service in Malaysia, said the two-wheel transportation service should be seen in a wider scope with diversified offerings like  food and parcel deliveries and expanded to the digital economy overall.

"It is our responsibility to ensure the job ecosystem can be improved and at the same time it does not only involve two-wheel transportation, we need to look at it from  food delivery, e-commerce delivery and many others.

"In terms of food delivery, in Malaysia now it is more towards established restaurants because of  the lack of a good ecosystem where even a small stall in front of our house can participate in the informal economy via the digital economy,” he added.

The Gojek service which is very big  in Indonesia is not available in Malaysia yet. Currently the big players in the country in this segment are Grab,  Food Panda and 'Dah Makan". 

-- BERNAMA