PETALING JAYA: Government has been urged to consider lifting the two-year moratorium on the issuance of new courier service licences to meet increasing customer demands.
After videos went viral of workers protesting at being “shortchanged” by a courier firm and stealing food and drinks from customers’ packages, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has called for a rethink of the moratorium.
“This (the videos) indicates that demand has exceeded supply in the courier service industry following the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said in a Facebook post.
He said the government had imposed a freeze on new courier service licences at a time when the people depended on the industry the most.
More courier service companies should be allowed to operate to provide greater options to the people, he said.
Zahid also said it would create healthy competition in the quality of services, as well as generate more job opportunities.
“I hope the government will not solely listen to calls made by courier companies,” he said, adding that the voice of the people must be heard as well.
Last year, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) announced a two-year moratorium on the issuance of new courier service licences to allow the government and the postal and courier industry to formulate new plans to strengthen the sector.
MCMC had said the move was in line with the call made in August by the Association of Malaysian Express Carriers, which represents 25 major courier companies in the country.
Yesterday, delivery firm J&T Express issued an apology after complaints about protesting workers tossing parcels around at a hub in Ipoh, and other complaints about food and drinks being stolen from customers’ parcels.
The company said the incidents were the result of temporary workers being hired to handle the increased volume of parcels and who were “only provided simple training”.
