67-Year-Old Pok Gus Shows Passion with Newfound Career as Food Delivery Rider

By: Patrick Beech

In an effort to increase income, being a ‘rider’ of food delivery is among the top choices by many especially after being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, while the average person who works as a food delivery rider is rather young, the story is different for Abd Rahman Md Idris, who chose to be a food delivery ‘rider’ at the age of 67.

Commonly known as Pok Gus, he shared his story to local newspaper NST of his decision to become a food delivery rider at the age of almost 70.

“I can’t just sit at home without doing anything. I’m easily bored, and I don’t want my mind and body to be weak,” he said.

The rider, who has three children and also three grandchildren, starts his daily routine at 7.30am, then takes a short break at 1pm and resumes his delivery work from 5pm to 7.30pm.

After a short break for prayers, Pok Gus continues to work until 9pm. Pok Gus, who lives in Ampang, said his flexible work schedule also depends on his health.

“If I feel unwell or tired, I just rest at home,” he said, who used to work as a Telekom contractor and a bank manager.

Pok Gus, who is a hardcore motorcycle enthusiast, is also part of the motorcycle convoy group that he has joined since he was young. As a food deliveryman, he understands the risks of this job and stressed the importance of road safety.

“Among the challenges is sneaking in and out of traffic jams safely to deliver food to customers on time. I also find it quite difficult to go up the stairs in the apartment building when the elevator does not work,” he said.

“Dealing with hungry and angry customers is also quite difficult!” he laughs.

However, Pok Gus said there were also good and grateful customers.

“When sending food during Ramadan, I got a tip of RM100 from a customer,” he said.

Pok Gus also expressed his hope to see better health insurance coverage from government agencies for seniors working as delivery riders.