KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 — Motorcycle ride-hailing services, such as Indonesia’s Go-Jek, has been given the green light by the Cabinet to operate locally, reported The Star.

The daily quoted Entrepreneur Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Yusof who said the matter was agreed upon in principle, following a lengthy discussion during today’s Cabinet meeting.

“Cabinet in principle has agreed for this Go-Jek service to be implemented.

“The Youth and Sports Ministry and the Transport Ministry have been asked to work together and discuss what laws need to be amended or created to enable this service to be implemented in the country,” he was quoted saying in the report after attending a ministry program in Putrajaya.

The minister also pressed on the importance of such services be implemented according to existing laws to ensure safety.

“We want to ensure whatever we implement to develop the economy of our youth, it does not contravene the law,” he said in the report.

Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman also tweeted the announcement, where he thanked Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Transport Minister Anthony Loke for their support.

“We are sincere in wanting to make sure mat motor get job opportunities, who are in the tens of thousands, while at the same time being able to assist the uncles and aunty vendors who run their businesses by selling their products through services like Go-Jek.

“This is also to help the young entrepreneurs, who with Go-Jek, will be able to sell their products through such services,” he said through a video in his tweet, using the Malay term for motorcyclists.

Syed Saddiq added how the introduction of the ride-hailing service could would also aid the last-mile dilemma, where such services would allow people to reach public transport hubs or stations at a low cost without having to go through traffic congestion.

On Monday, Loke confirmed that he, Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq, Gojek founder Nadiem Makarim and Prime Minister Dr Mahathir had met to discuss the possibility of rolling out the two-wheeled ride hailing services in Malaysia.

Loke had pointed out that it was his task as transport minister to look after the safety of road users while Syed Saddiq’s job is to look after the youth and create job opportunities for them.

Last year, Loke had said that Putrajaya did not plan to legalise motorbike hailing services like Go-Jek on Malaysian roads.

He told the Dewan Rakyat that the government does not feel the two-wheeled ride hailing services are suitable to be rolled out yet due to the high rate of road accidents involving motorcycles.

Go-jek is operated by Jakarta-based PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa, and the company is estimated to be worth US$10 billion (RM42 billion).

It runs businesses in Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, and planning to spread its wings to the Philippines besides Malaysia.