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I'm driving for charity, says Wahid Omar of his Uber stint

KUALA LUMPUR: So, why exactly is former minister Tan Sri Wahid Omar driving an Uber?

That was the question ringing on everyone’s mind when the news first emerged that the corporate figure and former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, was driving for Uber.

The question was answered in greater depth today in a WhatsApp conversation between him and Facebook user Datin Orked Ahmad.

Orked, the sister of the late film director Yasmin Ahmad, shared a screen shot of the conversation on her Facebook page.

According to the conversation, Wahid had registered as an Uber driver on Thursday, June 16.

He said it was something he “had always wanted to do” but had refrained from, as he was a minister, and the government had yet to decide on Uber’s status.

Wahid said he had a “3-in1” objective to it.

Apart from wanting to experience what it was like, he also wanted to promote the newly-launched Proton Perdana.

More importantly however, he wanted to raise funds for charity.

“All proceeds will go towards a charity to be identified,” he said.

Wahid also said that, upon learning of his charity drive, his friends had pledged to match the amount one for one.

“So far, I’ve already got 30 times the top-ups. This means that a RM30 ride from the Ministry of Communications, Putrajaya to KL Sentral is worth RM 900 for charity!,” he quipped.

Wahid has so far done eight trips, all for charity. He also went out to drive again this morning.

Wahid’s stint as an Uber driver first came to light yesterday when one of his passenger, Firdaus Fadzil, posted his ride-share experience on Facebook, and gave Wahid a five star rating.

Firdaus also posted a selfie of him and a smiling Wahid behind the wheels.

Wahid’s term as a senator ended earlier in June. He was appointed as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of Economic Planning in 2013. Prior to that, he was president and CEO of Maybank.

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