Undi18 co-founder and education director Qyira Yusri said e-hailing was not a solution for helping young people earn a living. “What if they decide they want to move away from it one day?” she said.

The 2023 federal budget announced yesterday includes initiatives such as the government bearing the costs for youths to obtain taxi, bus and e-hailing licences, as well as a RM50 million young trader scheme.

Qyira said it was a concern that the government is encouraging youths to start businesses rather than deal with the root causes of unemployment.

She also pointed out that the budget did not allocate any funds for voter education initiatives despite speculation that the next general election could be soon.

“The government did not prioritise the election commission or Akademi Pilihan Raya programmes, which indicates they are not interested in preparing young people for GE15,” she said.

Arus Anak Muda project coordinator Amelia Zainabila said the issue of protection for gig workers has yet to be addressed. “The current ecosystem is still not conducive for workers, and now we are getting inexperienced young people into such a system,” she said.

Human resources minister M Saravanan had previously proposed laws to regulate gig workers, who only have social protection under Socso’s self-employment social security scheme.