KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia E-Hailing Drivers Association (MeHDA) is up in arms over remarks made by Universiti Putra Malaysia’s economic analyst Dr. Mohd Yusof Saari belittling e-hailing drivers.
MeHDA president Daryl Chong said the remarks by the academician was during a 2020Budget dialogue session which was aired last Friday by a local TV network.
“We condemn the distasteful remarks by Dr. Mohd Yusof, where he claimed that motorcycle food delivery riders and e-hailing drivers are occupations which do not have dignity when asked about shared prosperity whereby more and more young people these days chose to be in that profession.
“E-hailing drivers ferry passengers as a halal source of income and many of them had little career options due to various unforeseen circumstances and unfortunate situations.
'Rather than getting involved with illegal activities for income, we choose to become e-hailing drivers to earn an honest living or make some pocket money through what we currently have in our hands - a vehicle and the ability to drive,” he said in a statement today.
Chong said that what Yusof failed to recognise was that not everyone in Malaysia was as lucky as him to get an education, possess a degree and having read a PhD from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.
He added that Yusof’s remarks were truly disparaging, uncalled for, insensitive and hurtful.
“Dr. Mohd Yusof should publicly apologise to all e-hailing drivers in Malaysia for his words,” he said.