Go-Jek is opposed by Malaysian local startups for fear of losing out?
An Indonesian-owned startup, Gojek, has begun to expand its business to several countries in Southeast Asia. Previously, Gojek had successfully expanded its wings to Thailand and Vietnam. Now, they are trying their luck in the neighboring country, Malaysia.
Gojek can easily get permits in the neighboring country. The Malaysian government has indeed given the “green light” to the company fronted by Nadiem Makarim. However, the opposition actually emerged from a local startup called MyCar.
Local Startups Are Afraid of Unfair Competition Due to the emergence of Gojek
The MyCar founder said that the presence of Gojek would threaten from a security perspective and lead to unfair competition between e-hailing ride startups in Malaysia. At least, there are 30 startups that provide e-hailing ride services in Malaysia.
If Gojek enters, they are worried that there will be an imbalance of power over local services. Gojek has been around for 8 years, while MyCar has only been around for 1.5 years.
In addition, they also questioned the permission of foreign startups to enter Indonesia. In fact, a Malaysian-owned startup called Dego Ride which provides similar services has not yet issued a permit.
He added that if the Malaysian government asked to improve the quality of its services, local startups would gladly do so.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian government itself said that the emergence of Gojek could help young people to easily earn additional income. The Malaysian government also emphasized that Gojek would still be subject to a feasibility study and local legal provisions.
