Zamelah speaking about the impact of the MCO on her transport service company. LORRY drivers in Penang are earning less than before due to a drop in demand for transport and courier services during the movement control order (MCO).Lorry driver Badrul Abdul Rahim, 42, said that since the start of the MCO, he has been going on fewer trips to deliver goods.“As drivers for our company, we get a basic salary but on top of that, we rely on allowances based on the number of trips we make.“We used to make seven trips a day when companies and factories were still operating and this provided us with extra money.“Now that only a select few factories are allowed to operate, we take only one to three trips a day.“Sometimes, there are no trips scheduled at all and we would just stand by outside the office to wait for impromptu requests,” he said when met outside his office in Sungai Tiram, Bayan Lepas, on Tuesday.Badrul said he has to support his wife and three children on a basic monthly income of over RM1,000.“Among my circle of colleagues, many are the sole breadwinner of the family.“It was because of our additional allowances that we were able to comfortably support our families.“Now, we try to spend only on essential items.“I am thankful our company did not cut our income or ask us to go on leave so we are still able to earn a little with the few trips we do each day.“I hope that with the Bantuan Prihatin Nasional aid of RM1,000, my family and I can at least prepare for the coming Raya comfortably,” he added.Zamelah Mustafa, 43, a human resources executive of a transport service company, said that following the MCO, demand for transport services dropped by 60%.“This is because of the impact on the import and export of products.“Although we continue operating, we are catering to just a few companies and factories now.“Even so, these factories are running on a lower stock and thus, the service they require is less demanding.“Our lorry drivers now work on an on-call basis,” she said.Zamelah said many workers were worried about meeting their Raya expenditure.“In our company, lorry drivers earn allowances of between RM10 and over RM30 per trip.“The MCO has really hurt their extra income.”Meanwhile, Bazli Abdul Halim, 40, the branch manager of an express delivery company, said demand for courier services and shipping at his branch has dropped by 30%.“My company is making fewer deliveries now.“As our riders and drivers depend on incentives from successful deliveries, this affects them.“Now with Covid-19, many residential areas do not allow our riders and drivers into their premises to deliver goods, thus reducing delivery rates even more,” said Bazli.

Source: The Star April 13, 2020 00:22 UTC