Varia Ranah - Sorotan Ilmiah Perkhidmatan Awam

505 Varia Ranah: Sorotan Ilmiah Perkhidmatan Awam According to Swaniker (2018), the United States is well on its way in establishing itself as a gig economy whereby as much as a third of the working population is already in some gig capacity. He pointed out that figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2017 reported an approximate 55 million persons in the United States are gig workers. This figure is more than 35% of the total current workforce of the nation and is envisaged to leapfrog to 43% by the year 2020. The report postulates that an estimated half of the working United States population will move into the gig economy by 2027. Further, the report sees that 84% of freelancers tend to prioritize their lifestyle over their earnings as compared to 64% of the other traditional workers. Malaysian Experience Unlike many developed nations that have deep dived into the gig employment since a few years ago, it has been seen that Malaysia is new to its concept and only beginning to embrace it in a big way in the last few years. According to the former Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, Malaysia risks falling behind in terms of embracing the gig economy which is seen as a major boost for the digital economy sector in countries like Indonesia and Thailand. He further reiterates that a new law is needed to regulate the gig economy with a view to provide better worker protection in the long run (Palansamy, Chonghui, 2019). According to the Marketing Magazine (2019), an estimated 26 % of the total 15.3 million Malaysian workforce form part of the growing gig economy, highlighting there is an estimated population of 4 million freelancing presently. To put it more distinctly, according to Muhd Amin Naharul (2019) from the Malaysian Reserve tabloid, in the services sector there are currently an estimated 200,000 e-hailing drivers and riders employed under the gig economy, including an estimation of 13,000 under Foodpanda. Malaysia is new to its concept and only beginning to embrace it in a big way in the last few years A new law is needed to regulate the gig economy with a view to provide better worker protection in the long run