This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on August 22, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has agreed in principle to having motorcycle ride-hailing service Go-Jek be implemented in the country, said Entrepreneur Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Yusof, according to Bernama.

The cabinet, at its weekly meeting yesterday, also decided a law review should be made before the service can be implemented, the minister reportedly said.

Hence, the youth and sports ministry and the transport ministry would work together and discuss what laws need to be amended or created to enable this service to be implemented in the country, he said.

“If we have to amend or create a new law, the two ministries need to study and table it to the cabinet.

“We want to ensure whatever we implement to develop the economy of our youth, it does not contravene the law,” Mohd Redzuan was reported as saying.

Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, who forwarded the proposal to the cabinet for deliberation yesterday, separately said the cabinet’s approval will enable the young, especially ‘Mat Motor’ to get employment.

He said in a video on his Facebook page that the implementation of Go-Jek will also help society obtain public transportation at a low cost, and without having to face.

‘We are sincere in wanting to ensure the ‘Mat Motor’ group receive hundreds of thousands job opportunities. At the same time, we want to help the ‘Pak Cik’ (uncles) and ‘Mak Cik’ (aunties) running existing stalls to sell their wares through Go-Jek,’’ he reportedly said.

The service could also help young entrepreneurs sell their products, he said. ‘God willing, we will continue to work hard to ensure our young people are championed in the best possible manner. This is the future of our Malaysia,’’ he added.

On a separate issue, Mohd Redzuan dismissed the notion that he was among the individuals who lobbied Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad over the Lynas project.

“What the cabinet agreed to was by consensus [and] in the interest of the country,” he said.

He was asked to comment on the matter after a portal reported on a screenshot of a conversation between Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Fuziah Salleh with an unnamed individual, claiming that some ministers had tried to lobby Dr Mahathir over the Lynas issue.

Last Thursday, the Atomic Energy Licensing Board announced that the government had extended Lynas operating licence for another six months.

However, the announcement was seen as effectively giving the rare earth mining company the green light to operate for another four years, as one of the conditions specified by the board in its licence extension announcement was that Lynas has to come up with a plan to build a “cracking and leaching” facility overseas so that the main processes to remove the radioactive waste — currently being undertaken in Gebeng, Kuantan, Pahang — can be undertaken there.