If you're hungry and you want to order delivery, what service would you use?

For Malaysians, the answer might no longer include 'Foodpanda.'

The hashtags #boycottfoodpanda, #deletefoodpanda, and #boikotfoodpanda are now trending on Twitter after the company's statements have been taken out of context.

Well, allegedly that is.

Foodpanda who?

Foodpanda is currently one of the more popular food delivery services in Malaysia, similar to GrabFood and the now-defunct HonestBee.

Although the company was established in Malaysia in 2012, it only began really gaining popularity among consumers two years ago.

What's going on with Foodpanda and its riders?

A Foodpanda rider laments their last day with the company. IMAGE: Twitter

Foodpanda recently made a nationwide policy change to their payment scheme in September.

The new payment scheme abolishes the system of paying riders per hour, according to Free Malaysia Today. Instead, riders will be paid for every order they deliver. In addition to that, their payment per order will be increased from US$1.07 (RM4.50) to US$1.67 (RM7).

Previously, the old payment scheme paid riders US$0.95 (RM4) per hour with additional payments per order, based on the riders' performance. There is also a US$23.82 (RM100) incentive for riders if they complete 60 hours of work per week.

There are currently at least 13,000 Foodpanda riders in nationwide. More than 30 percent of that number operate outside of Malaysia's Klang Valley.

Foodpanda managing director Sayantan Das explained that the new payment scheme would be beneficial and allow riders to earn up to 50 percent more because they'll be rewarded by the number of deliveries per hour.

But riders are insisting otherwise.

In order to make minimum wage in Malaysia, roughly US$260 (RM1,100), riders would have to make at least 275 deliveries each month. That's at least nine delivery trips a day.

Many netizens took to Twitter to voice their complaints.

Saya jarang memboikot sesuatu perkhidmatan atau produk.



Namun kenyataan yang agak keterlaluan oleh pihak pengurusan @foodpanda_my memaksa saya melancarkan kempen boikot.



Ayuh semua kita boikot aplikasi @foodpanda_my



Saya sudah, anda?#BoikotFoodpanda #UninstallFoodPanda pic.twitter.com/O8ZkF9Je38 — Xavier Naxa (@XavierNaxa) October 8, 2019

"I rarely boycott a service or product. But it seems that the Foodpanda's management has made me launch a boycott campaign," Twitter user @XavierNaxa wrote. "Let's all boycott Foodpanda's application. I'm ready, are you?"

Another Twitter user posted a screenshot that recommended Foodpanda boycotters to not just uninstall the app, but to also give low ratings and low reviews to the company.

Despite several criticisms from its riders and online netizens, Foodpanda will be testing its new payment scheme for riders outside of Klang Valley for the month of October, according to The Star. Riders within Kuala Lumpur will continue with the old payment scheme until further notice.

"We are confident that the changes made are for the better, thus we will be sticking with the scheme for the moment," Das said during a press conference.

Malaysian ministers voice their opinions.

Enter Malaysia Minister of Youth and Sports Syed Saddiq's show of solidarity.

Sebagai #Yangberkhidmat,saya dipilih oleh rakyat & boleh dihukum oleh rakyat.



Sebagai korporat, mereka dibangunkan oleh pekerja/pengguna, & boleh dijatuhkan oleh pekerja/pengguna.



Keangkuhan bukan jalan penyelesaian.



Hanya sokong korporat yang adil kepada pekerja & pengguna. https://t.co/js93ZiqPoe — Syed Saddiq (@SyedSaddiq) October 7, 2019

"As a minister, I was chosen by the people and can be punished by the people. As a corporate, they're supported by their workers and consumers, and can be taken down by the workers and consumers," he wrote in his Twitter post. "Arrogance is not the solution. Only support corporations that are fair to their workers and consumers."

Syed Saddiq held a meeting with roughly 100 food delivery drivers on October 1 to discuss the problems that local freelance workers face in the current economy.

Many of the riders voiced complaints regarding unfair treatment, lack of financial safety nets such as Employees Provident Fund (EPF) or Social Security Organisation (Socso), and even suspension or bans if riders cancel deliveries that are out of their reach.

However, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad insists that Syed Saddiq's opinions belong to him alone.

Just a week shy from the #BoycottMalaysia controversy on social media, Mahathir told reporters that the Syed Saddiq's comments are not reflected within the government.

How the future for food delivery services in Malaysia looks.

For now, it seems that the battle between Foodpanda and its riders will continue on without a clear conclusion.

Riders who are planning to boycott the company are encouraged to transfer their shifts to other food delivery options to continue earning their livelihoods, Das said to reporters during a press conference recently. Boycotts are technically legal in Malaysia, and Foodpanda understands that.

Meanwhile, in case you were looking for other food delivery services, Twitter user @sofi_zai got you covered.

Bungkusit

LAUK

runnermyrun

GoGet

runningman



ha apa lagi? — sopablo (@sofi_zai) October 8, 2019

Cover image sourced from Food Panda's Facebook page/Twitter.