KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 11): Malaysia's Employees Provident Fund (EPF) said the number of self-employed people under the gig economy is growing, possibly due to a lack of trust in the formal employment sector.

The Edge Malaysia business and investment weekly in its latest November 13 - 19 issue quoted EPF deputy CEO (strategy) Tunku Alizakri Raja Muhammad Alias as saying the informal employment sector under the gig economy has been growing at a faster rate than the formal employment sector.

“In my opinion, there is a lack of trust among Malaysians in the formal establishment — in both the government and the corporates — which could partly be driving the growth of the informal sector and the gig economy.

“[A number of] Malaysians may feel that some things are not going great in the country, which has incentivised us to find solutions. This can be seen in the start-ups, which have come up with great solutions just by working among themselves. But this is just my hypothesis,” Alizakri said.

He said his opinion is based on findings of the 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer. For a better understanding on the Malaysian gig economy, kindly pick up and read the latest issue of The Edge. Or save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

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Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's AppStore and Androids' Google Play.