KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 — Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman said consumers could take down arrogant businesses just as they could vote out elected representatives.

Criticising the Foodpanda delivery service for refusing to abandon its new pay structure that some riders have likened to slave labour, the minister said "arrogance” was not the way to resolve such problems.

"As a corporation, they were built up by workers/consumers and can be brought down by workers/consumers,” he wrote on Twitter.

"Only support corporations that are fair to workers and consumers.”

Yesterday, Foodpanda said it was pushing ahead with the pay scheme that riders allege would cause their earnings potential to be halved.

The firm argued that the new system would lead to higher revenue for riders based on their daily deliveries.

Syed Saddiq had hosted Foodpanda and Grabfood riders at his home in Petaling Jaya last week after the first group began protesting nationwide against the new pay structure.

After the meeting, the minister said the federal Cabinet was urging the firm to retain its previous pay scheme to safeguard riders’ welfare.

Firms such as Foodpanda and Grab operate in a legal grey area as their delivery riders are considered "partners” or freelancers rather than employees and consequently do not have the usual legal safeguards of full-time workers.