Motorcycle taxi drivers employed by ride-hailing app Go-Jek monitor orders
span class="caption">Motorcycle taxi drivers employed by ride-hailing app Go-Jek monitor orders. As well as being Go-Jek drivers, these three women also run a clothing boutique. (TEMPO/Aditya Putra Herlambang)
Go-Jek's founder and CEO Nadiem Makarim has expressed his gratitude that a Transportation Ministry circular banning app-based ojek (motorcycle taxis) had been withdrawn, calling it a victory for the democratic economy.
'Dear lovely GO-JEK users, President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo just answered our prayers by cancelling the Transportation Minister's circular regarding the prohibition of app-based ojek and online taxi services. Thank you very much for your support on social media,' Nadiem wrote in a text message sent to the thejakartapost.com on Friday.
He said that he was touched by the enormous public support.
'We will not forget that for the most part this victory was thanks to the public's voice, which has risen to defend our existence. This is evidence of the victory of the democratic economy,' he said.
Nadiem added that the withdrawal guaranteed the welfare of the families of around 200,000 drivers. He also thanked President Jokowi through Gojek's twitter account for his actions to protect the democratic economy, which he said was the basis of Indonesia's strength.
'We invite all Gojek users and drivers to celebrate the Jokowi-JK decision through social media with the #GoRakyat [hashtag],' said Nadiem.
Jonan earlier issued a circular banning app-based transportation in any form, which led to public uproar, mainly expressed through social media. Due to the strong reaction the #SaveGojek hashtag was a trending topic on Indonesian Twitter on Friday morning.
President Jokowi personally expressed his objection to Jonan's decision, saying that the transportation services were needed by many people.
Amid the rising backlash, Jonan withdrew the ban on Friday afternoon. (cal/dan)
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