The Consumer Choice Centre (CCC) has pushed back against proposals to impose a minimum delivery price for courier services, warning that higher fees would fail to address the real pain points faced by Malaysia’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and online sellers.
While courier operators have highlighted rising costs and tough operating conditions, CCC said sellers are grappling with a different reality: Unreliable deliveries that directly undermine customer trust and sales.
“Delivery reliability affects cart conversion and repeat purchases. When delays, missed pickups or stalled tracking occur, customers blame the seller, not the courier,” said CCC representative Tarmizi Anuwar.
According to Tarmizi, introducing a price floor offers no guarantee of better service.
“Without structural reforms, higher delivery charges risk propping up underperforming operators while squeezing already thin MSME margins.
“Raising prices without fixing the system rewards substandard performance,” Anuwar stressed.
The group noted that earlier discussions around cost benchmarking, transparency and collaboration resonated more strongly with sellers because they tackled operational bottlenecks head-on. In contrast, price intervention shifts the focus away from competitiveness, scale and innovation, and towards measures that resemble protectionism.
“Temporary relief for some operators will not solve inconsistent service quality, opaque complaint resolution or rising customer expectations,” Tarmizi said, adding that a future-ready logistics sector cannot be built by making deliveries more expensive while leaving reliability issues unresolved.
As such, he urged policymakers to pursue solutions that improve efficiency and service quality alongside cost considerations.
With MSMEs powering a large share of Malaysia’s digital economy, the group said sustainable logistics reform must strengthen reliability; not just raise prices.
