By Zareef Muzammil
SHAH ALAM, Dec 1 — The Selangor government is willing to consider any proposal to expand the Roda Darul Ehsan (RiDE) motorcycle license subsidy programme to include other vehicles.
State executive councillor on youth development Mohd Khairuddin Othman said the initiative was to encourage youth participation in the gig economy that could provide them with income opportunities.
"Whatever our actions are, it is based on the views of the (youth) group. If one day there is a request for car e-hailing, I think the state government can look into that direction.
"In other words, there are no restrictions on our programme. Most importantly, it (the programme) is exclusive because we need to realise the changes that Selangor youths want,” he said during at the Bual Bicara talk show titled ‘Peluang Kerja, Gilap Potensi Anak Muda’ (Job Opportunity, Polishing Youth Potential), broadcasted live via Media Selangor’s Facebook yesterday night.
The one-hour programme also featured Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Media and Information Warfare Studies Centre senior lecturer Dr Noor Nirwandy Mat Noordin.
Mohd Khairuddin said the state government constantly strives to find a new and modern approach to help the livelihood of the youths, especially in the challenging post-Covid-19 era.
Therefore, he said the e-hailing service should not be seen as a less profitable career but instead as an opportunity for youths to generate their own income.
“In Selangor, there are about 2.9 million youths aged between 15 and 40 years while the total population is estimated to be at 6.2 million. It clearly shows that youth dominates the state population.
"If we use the traditional way or conservative method (of thinking), I think youths will view the state government as still (being) traditional. Therefore, we need to embrace this group,” he said.
Selangor 2021 Budget allocated RM2 million to expand the RiDE programme to not only cover urban but also rural youths by targeting 3,000 participants to have a career as a rider in the e-hailing service.
The participants will receive a B2 motorcycle license subsidy of RM350, an e-hailing course worth RM200 and a Social Security Organisation (Socso) contribution of RM70 per year.
