KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 19 (Bernama) -- The rapid growth of e-commerce has reshaped the landscape of the national courier industry, with parcel volume surging to over 899 million as of the third quarter of 2024, compared to 52 million in 2015.
Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said the courier industry has also created over 150,000 jobs, with 80 per cent of parcel delivery workers coming from the B40 income group.
"Healthy competition and competitive pricing among courier companies give Malaysian consumers the power of choice.
"The ministry, through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), continuously prioritises consumer interests from various aspects, including monitoring service pricing," she said during Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today.
She was replying to a question from Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal (PN-Machang) regarding the justification for the increase in the minimum courier delivery price under the reference price guidelines, given the continuous rise in online sales each year.
Elaborating further, Teo said the reference price guidelines for courier services, introduced by the MCMC in 2022, aim to balance the delivery of quality courier services to consumers with fair industry competition, including preventing predatory pricing.
She explained that the guidelines serve as a reference for licensed service providers but do not mandate a minimum price.
"The reference price guidelines are a self-regulatory mechanism for the industry, allowing courier service providers to set prices based on efficient costs, in line with Section 36 of the Postal Services Act 2012," she said.
Additionally, Teo noted that under Section 36 of the Act, postage rates set by licensed providers must be reasonably fair and non-discriminatory, as well as cost-oriented.
At the same time, they must not include discounts that could unfairly harm the competitive opportunities of other licensed providers.
-- BERNAMA
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