Update: Foodpanda Malaysia released a statement, saying "We are disheartened to see a call to boycott foodpanda, after parts of our statement from yesterday’s press briefing was taken out of context. Our intention was to share our part of the story, with details on the new scheme as many were misinformed. We’re confident the new payment scheme will be beneficial to our customers, partners and especially our riders. Hence, we’ll continue to monitor the implementation of the scheme before the next course of action. foodpanda is an ecosystem of riders, partners and customers - our pillars of strength. We truly appreciate and value your continuous support."



Users on social media platform Twitter are making the hashtag #boycottfoodpanda go viral after the local food delivery company said it will stick to a new payment scheme for riders outside of Klang Valley. The company added that it will maintain the new payment scheme for a minimum four weeks before deciding on the next course of action, if necessary.

Foodpanda Malaysia managing director Sayantan Das claimed that initial data showed a good proportion of riders are actually earning more under the new scheme, which was first implemented on Sept 30.

"We are confident that the changes made are for the better, thus we will be sticking with the scheme for the moment," he said in a press conference yesterday (Oct 7).

"Contrary to what has been reported, the new scheme actually gives performing riders a chance to earn more, up to 50% more, and those not performing as well to be motivated to take more shifts to get a bigger piece of the pie," he added.

The new payment scheme introduced by Foodpanda led to some riders staging a series of protests across different states earlier this month.

Riders who were part of the protest demanded that the company revert back to the old payment scheme which they claimed helped them to earn more by paying them based on the number of hours worked instead of focusing on the number of deliveries performed during their work shifts.

Now users are voicing their solidarity with the affected Foodpanda riders and sharing images of themselves deleting the app from their mobile devices. The online boycott movement has also caught the attention of some notable personalities including artist Fahmi Reza who posted an image expressing his boycott towards Foodpanda. Other relevant hashtags include #DeleteFoodPanda and #UninstallFoodPanda.

The issues seems to be ignited by Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman’s Twitter post which called on others to only support corporations that are fair to both staff and users.

While some agree with him, others have responded that the minister did not read beyond the headline in the news story he retweeted.

Done uninstall. “kalau kamu tak mahu kerja kami okay je” kalau rakyat uninstall mesti lagi okayyy kan @foodpanda_my #boycottfoodpanda pic.twitter.com/uU5xK042cA — Mimut (@MimieJalal) October 8, 2019

The company in a statement to the media on Sept 28 said it works with over 12,000 freelance riders across Malaysia. It stated that the revised scheme enables riders to earn more income based on the orders they accept.

Foodpanda stated that it has increased the rate per order that a rider performs. For example, a rider that previously received RM5 per order would now receive RM7 per order. If they complete 60 hours a week, they will receive a RM100 bonus.

The Star has reached out to Foodpanda for comments.