Indonesia’s Gojek appears to be readying for its entry into Malaysia. The firm’s CEO Nadiem Makarim and its president Andre Soelistyo have scheduled a meeting this week with the Malaysian Prime Minister, the Transportation Minister, and the Sports and Youth Minister to discuss the implications of Gojek’s launch in the country, CNN reports.
Malaysia’s Sports and Youth Minister mentioned the upcoming meeting in a video posted on his Instagram account, saying the officials were looking forward to discuss the possibilities of creating long-term opportunities for Malaysia’s motorcycle taxi drivers.
Malaysia is the birthplace of Gojek’s rival Grab, which, like Gojek, offers a variety of on-demand transportation services in countries across Southeast Asia.
In Malaysia, Grab only has four-wheel transportation options so far, and the prospect of letting Gojek launch its motorcycle-based service launch in Malaysia was met with criticism online, according to The Star.
In 2017, Malaysia’s Transportation Ministry had banned a local startup that offered on-demand motorcycle taxis because the service was deemed unsuitable for “developed cities”. Now it looks like the country is ready to reconsider its stance.