Tere, the protest coordinator, pointed out that the remark made by Shamsubahrin Ismail, the founder of Malaysia's Big Blue Taxi Malaysia, had derided ojek drivers.
The protesters congregated at Menteng Pulo, South Jakarta, before marching for around a kilometer to the Malaysian Embassy on Rasuna Said Street.
During his speech at the protest, Tere called on Ismail to visit Indonesia to directly apologize for his offensive statement made against ojek drivers.
The demonstrators have collected coins for Ismail to cover his travel expenses to Indonesia.
At a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Ismail vociferously opposed Indonesian decacorn Go-Jek for expanding its motorcycle taxi hailing service to Malaysia.
In the conference’s video that went viral, Ismail remarked that Go-Jek’s motorcycle taxi service was "only for poor people like in Jakarta, Thailand, India, and Cambodia" and that "Gojek as a career will not ensure a promising future."
As his statement had fomented public ire in Indonesia, the Malaysian businessman has offered his apology. Similarly, Political Attaché of the Malaysian Embassy Wan Mohd Kalid had apologized to the Government of Indonesia on August 30. Related news: Minister readies instrument to intervene in online ojek rates
EDITED BY INE
Translator: Santoso, Sri Haryati
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
