Author
Assoc Prof Nurhidayah Abdullah
Organisation/Institution
University of Malaya, Faculty of Law
Country
MALAYSIA
Panel
Labor and Employment Law
Title
Between “Mitra” and “Independent Contractor”: A Comparative Study of Gig Worker Regulation in Indonesia and Malaysia
Abstract
The rise of platform-mediated work in Southeast Asia has brought gig workers to the centre of debates on labour protection, yet their legal status remains unsettled. This paper offers a comparative analysis of how Indonesia, a civil law country where gig workers are formally framed as “Mitra” under standardised partnership contract, and neighbouring states with different legal traditions and regulatory trajectories, Malaysia, define and govern gig work. In Indonesia, a civil law jurisdiction, platform workers are commonly framed as “Mitra” (partners) and non-wage workers, where the application of contract law principles remains debatable in light of platform companies’ use of unilateral partnership contract terms, positioning gig workers at the margins of the Law No. 13 of 2003 about Manpower, but increasingly incorporated into social security and sectoral regulatory schemes . Malaysia, by contrast, relies on common law tests of employment status and a strict employee/independent contractor dichotomy, within which most gig workers are formally classified as self-employed and thus excluded from core labour protections. Through comparative analysis, this paper highlights the regulatory gaps that persist and advances the need for targeted reforms, including the establishment of a dedicated regulatory body for platform workers and the introduction of specific legislation of Gig Worker in Indonesia reflected Malaysia’s regulatory experience (“Gig Workers Bill 2025”).Using a comparative legal method, this study examines statutory provisions, ministerial regulations, policy documents and emerging case law in both jurisdictions, focusing on three dimensions: (i) definitional categories and the construction of gig workers in law; (ii) access to social protection and occupational safety; and (iii) possibilities for collective representation and voice. The paper argues that Indonesia’s experimentation with hybrid and quasi-statutory categories, despite its limitations, offers important lessons for Malaysia’s more rigid, court-driven framework.
Biography
Dr. Nurhidayah binti Abdullah was recently appointed Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. She holds an LL.B. (Hons) and a Master of Comparative Law (M.C.L.) from the International Islamic University Malaysia, and earned her Ph.D. from the University of Sydney Business School . Admitted to the Malaysian Bar as an Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya.Her research spans contract and business law, with a particular emphasis on the social and economic dimensions that inform legal and policy reform.She has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and national newspapers and is regularly invited to speak on social-media forums about current issues affecting gig-economy workers in Malaysia. Assoc Prof Dr Nurhidayah also led the Ministry of Human Resources–commissioned consultation project, “Study on Developing Employment Policy and Legal Framework for the Gig Economy in Malaysia.”
