KUALA LUMPUR: A think tank has warned that the proposed Gig Workers Bill, which has been delayed three times, could raise costs for digital platforms and consumers.
MY Mobility Vision chief executive officer Wan Agyl Wan Hassan said there were serious concerns about the bill, noting that the gig economy is complex and cuts across various sectors, platforms, states and commitment levels.
He said one of the most debated features was a minimum compensation framework aimed at guaranteeing fairness.
“The intention is noble, but the operational implications remain unclear,” Wan Agyl told the New Sunday Times.
He questioned whether platforms would be forced to enforce minimum working hours to meet the thresholds.
He also asked how small, local platforms would comply without cutting jobs or raising barriers.
Wan Agyl said a “flexible minimum” would end up becoming a regulatory cost that platforms often absorbed by shrinking access, which means fewer opportunities for gig workers, not more.
He added that platforms would ultimately pass any additional compliance costs to consumers, leading to higher prices amid a challenging business environment following the increase in minimum wage, the implementation of e-invoicing, and the expansion of the Sales and Services Tax.
He cited Singapore, where at least four ride-hailing operators had raised fees due to costs from their Platform Workers Act, even without a minimum compensation framework.
Wan Agyl said no Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) on the bill had been published by the government to date, despite a 2012 circular from the then chief secretary to the government requiring such an assessment for all proposed policies and legal amendments.
He warned that passing the law without addressing these issues might backfire and the bill should be reviewed again.
“What we need is a time-bound, transparent review to be conducted with workers, platforms and policy experts,” he said.
“This isn’t about delay. It’s about getting it right.”
Separately, Kiddocare, a Malaysian childcare platform, said the bill appeared to be a “quick fix” and risks harming the very workers it aimed to protect.
The company said the bill appeared to focus heavily on the e-hailing and p-hailing sectors, while neglecting other “vital gig sectors”, such as childcare, eldercare and wellness.
“A single framework applied across different gig sectors risks being ineffective at best, and counterproductive at worst,” Kiddocare said in a statement to the NST.
Although the company said it supported the principle of social protection, it also cautioned against “rigid, mandatory schemes” that did not reflect the reality of the sector.
Kiddocare called on the government to publish a comprehensive RIA before tabling the bill and to ensure that there was inter-ministerial coordination.
It said the government must engage all gig sectors and build on existing protections rather than duplicating them.
Last week, Grab Malaysia urged lawmakers to ensure that the proposed bill struck a balance between protecting workers and sustaining innovation.
The company said it supported regulations that provided stronger protections for gig workers, but any framework must be underpinned by three principles: flexibility, balance and collaboration.
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