KUALA LUMPUR - Umno has suggested for the government to immediately establish the Malaysian Gig Economy Commission (Segim) to regulate the gig industry ecosystem.
Its president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the suggestion was to safeguard the welfare of the entire economic chain starting from service providers, suppliers, employees and consumers of the sector.
"This sector is growing rapidly in the country with over 1.12 million gig workers registered with the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).
"Furthermore, over 80 per cent of gig economy consumers are the youth," he said while delivering his policy speech for the 2023 Umno General Assembly in Merdeka Hall World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur (WTCKL) here on Friday.
Also present were Pakatan Harapan chairman and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
Zahid who is also the Barisan Nasional chairman stated the government could no longer ignore the digital evolution.
He said this was due to the fact that the digital evolution dominating the Malaysian internet economy market is reaching 'multi-billion' transactions amassing RM52.4 billion in 2020 alone.
"The industry is expected to grow at a rate of 23 per cent a year.
"I believe that the establishment of Segim will provide a new light for gig economy players as well as Grab, LalaMove, Food Panda riders out there," he said.
Zahid said this would enable the government to structure a gig economy taxation system which saw a major cash flow through services abroad.