Our Transport Minister Declined A Smartphone Gift

In a very public example of walking the talk, Transport Minister Anthony Loke had earlier today declined a gift that was given to him as a token of appreciation for gracing the launch event for new e-hailing app diffride.

During the launch ceremony in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur earlier today, Loke was presented with a Huawei smartphone. He had a quick look at the gift and told the organizers that the gift is worth more than RM500 and he can’t accept it.

At the press conference after the event, Loke told the assembled press, “I want to stress that we do not need such appreciation in the future.”

“I have to reject the gift because I am sure that it’s worth more than RM500 in terms of value. The new government, all ministers, we walk the talk, and just a word to all future event organizers, please take note that this is a new regulation by the government. As far as I am concerned, I don’t need any gift. If you want to invite us to any future functions, we will just attend and we don’t need any gifts.” he added.  

diffride is developed by local start-up Diff Global Solutions Sdn Bhd and according to various news reports, the company claims to have already secured 2,000 registrations for drivers, subject to profile screening by the management and approval by the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD).

diffride charges its drivers a flat fee of RM5 daily, which includes insurance coverage for drivers and passengers.

The company’s CEO Hannah Yong was quoted by The Edge as saying:

"We are the first e-hailing service provider in Malaysia to offer this flat fee of RM5 to our driver partners for daily access to connect them to their potential passengers," she said.

"By not requiring them to pay us a percentage of their fares, this means that we can not only offer our riders a more competitive fare rate for their journey, but also allow our drivers to take home a larger amount of their earnings," she added.