The Gig Workers Tribunal Heard Its First Case on 1 September. No Lawyers Were Allowed in the Room
Malaysia's Gig Workers Tribunal sat for the first time on 1 September 2026, at the Kuching labour office in Sarawak. The case was an e-hailing worker against GrabCar Sdn Bhd over Saver Trips, Advance Booking and cashback incentives, and the worker argued it himself because section 36 of the Gig Workers Act 2025 bars advocates and solicitors from representing anyone before the Tribunal. The hearing was adjourned for further testimony. We read the gazetted Act 872 clause by clause and it answers two questions the first case raises: how a rider actually gets to the Tribunal, which is not by walking in, and who the Act covers, which for anyone not working through a platform is a list of exactly nine services printed in the Schedule. Freelance design, copywriting, coding and tutoring are not on it.
