On the road in rising heat: The daily reality of Malaysia's delivery riders

When it is hot outside, you do not feel like stepping outside. So you pull out your phone to order lunch and a cold drink.

But while you wait indoors, someone else is riding through that heat to bring your meal to you.

As Malaysia gets hotter, delivery riders are spending long hours on the road under increasingly difficult conditions. A KiniTV survey of 51 delivery riders in the Klang Valley found that 90% felt working conditions had become hotter in recent years, while many reported symptoms such as headaches, dizziness or fatigue.

This report examines the hidden cost of delivery work: how rising heat affects riders’ health and safety, why “flexibility” does not always make it easy to stop, and whether existing protections are adequate.

[ Correction note: An interviewee’s name was misspelt in the video. The correct name is Wan Amirah Wan Usamah, a research associate at Khazanah Research Institute. There was also a subtitle error at 03:44; the line should read: “The fire is being turned up very slowly.” KiniTV regrets the errors. ]

Timestamp

00:00 – Introduction 01:58 – Heat, health and the invisible risks 05:54 – Why can’t riders just stop? 09:56 – Who is responsible? 12:40 – What are the possible solutions? 19:46 – As temperature rises, more protection is needed

Rising temperatures are no longer only an environmental issue, but a challenge that cuts across health, labour and economic policy.

Produced by: KiniTV