We Salute This Foodpanda Delivery Lady Who Cycles 15KM Every Day to Deliver Food in Ipoh

By Charmaine Shaharin  •  26 Nov 2020 in News

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Food Delivery is an area mostly dominated by men on motorcycles. So for Siti Khadijah Suhaimi, being a woman on a bicycle really makes her stand out from the crowd of food delivery riders in Ipoh.

The 29-year-old who is just trying to make ends meet after quitting her job as a food attendant at a beverage outlet in Cameron Highlands, had joined Foodpanda only about two weeks ago.

She told News Straits Times that the reason why she quit her job in Cameron Highlands was due to the fact that her employer had cut her salary by half, leaving her with only RM600 per month. She decided to return to Ipoh and applied to join Foodpanda.

Siti who is the second of six siblings also stated that her father was the one who bought the bicycle for her, and although her family had approved of her profession, she felt shy at first when she had to use a mere bicycle to deliver orders.

However, she pushed the fear aside and took up the challenge of cycling more than 15km every day to deliver food – adding credence to the saying, “Where there’s a will (or in this case wheel), there’s a way”.

She also shared some of the challenges she faced as a food delivery rider on a bicycle.

“I realise this is a dangerous job for a woman, but nothing is impossible,” quipped the rider.

There was one time when a motorcyclist tapped on her phone when she was holding it, causing her phone to drop and its screen to crack. “I was in tears, but I told myself that it’s okay. I accepted this job, and it means I have to accept this as a challenge,” she said.

Choosing to remain positive, she said that she had lost weight (4kg to be exact) and was happy that she gets to workout on the job.

Siti proves that not only can girls do physically-demanding jobs, but they can do it better than some men.