The approval came just days after Youth Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman announced his intention to bring gojek to Malaysia in a Twitter video

Malaysia’s Entrepreneur Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Yusof announced that a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, August 21, had discussed the matter of ride-hailing service operations in the country.

As a result, the Cabinet decided to give it a principal approval.

“The Youth and Sports Ministry and the Transport Ministry have been asked to work together and discuss what laws need to be amended or created to enable this service to be implemented in the country,” the minister said, according to a report by The Star.

The minister also stressed the importance of ride-hailing services to be done legally if the concept is executed in Malaysia.

The government’s approval came just days after Youth Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman announced his endorsement for Indonesian ride-hailing giant gojek to operate in the country.

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He believed that having the startup operating in Malaysia can help support the livelihood of local motorcyclist group.

The support received mixed reactions from netizens as Malaysia had previously known to ban motorbike-based ride-hailing services, as provided by local startup Dego Ride.

The minister responded to the criticism by saying his support will not only go to gojek, emphasising the need for a “conducive ecosystem.”

Indonesian ride-hailing giant gojek has been making moves to expand its services to Southeast Asia. In addition to its home country, the service has also been launched in Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The company has been facing regulatory hurdles in its effort to enter the Philippines.

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Image Credit: Sadie Teper on Unsplash

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