THE Seberang Prai Municipal Council’s latest collaboration with Grab Malaysia to introduce the e-Bazaar Ramadan service to mainland Penang, is a commendable step in helping micro-entrepreneurs and social sellers to switch to cashless transactions, during this time of restricted movement.
The Penang collaboration is similar to Grab’s initiative with the Selangor authorities, which has entailed the setting up of closed central kitchens or “cloud kitchens” which are serviced by Grab delivery riders in the area.
The public is not allowed to do pick-ups at the sites of these closed kitchens. The food merchants or traders operating in these kitchens are recommended and nominated by the local authorities.
In these kitchens, merchants will be set at a distance of 2 meters apart, with security personnel guarding the area to ensure no unauthorised entries.
Grab’s collaboration in Penang is limited to only the mainland. The Penang Island City Council last week launched an online platform, Jom Beli Online@MBPP (JBO@MBPP), to help hawkers affected by the movement control order (MCO).
The Penang Island council, has partnered with home-grown delivery company DeliverEat, for this initiative.
It is understood that DeliverEat has less than 100 delivery riders in the whole state and this is a stark contrast to Grab (700 riders) and FoodPanda which has 300 delivery riders.
It is learnt that the Penang city council had declined to partner with the likes of Grab and Food Panda during the Ramadan season and the mind boggles on why this is so.
The spirit in which the online bazaars have been set up is to help traders who have been “displaced” due to the MCO.
The question which begs an answer is why are there imaginary “borders” or lines being drawn now for food delivery during Ramadan, when this can be used as a time to not only assist many traders, but also help wage earners like food delivery workers?
Grab's service offering will include the ability to order a complete Ramadan breaking of fast menu on the app, which will include a mix and match feature, added with the promise of delivery within 30 minutes.
During the MCO, ride-hailing companies should not be forced or limited to participate in any unproven portals. Instead, they should be encouraged and allowed to provide services which can further improve the delivery process.
The time now is to show consideration, compassion and cooperation with assisting any level of businesses to survive and with any luck, land right back on their feet once we have fought and won the Covid-19 war.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times