This story is about a Malaysian courier who delivered more than 2,000 parcels in a single month, only to discover his final pay amounted to just RM750 after deductions.What began as a short-term hustle quickly became a harsh lesson about the hidden costs and realities of gig-based delivery work.
On 1st Feb., the first parcel was scanned.
By 30th Feb, the counter read 2,150.
For Arif* (Name changed for privacy), that number wasn’t a flex; it was exhaustion measured in beeps, staircases, and sweat-soaked shirts.
“Just One More Block”
Arif joined a courier company in Shah Alam thinking it would be temporary. “Just a few months,” he told himself. Enough to clear debts, maybe save a little. The recruiter spoke fast and confidently, flexible hours, performance bonuses, high volume equals high income.
What they didn’t mention was how volume works when you’re the one carrying it.
Every morning, Arif loaded his Ativa before sunrise. Boxes stacked to the roof. Electronics, clothes, kitchenware; all promised to someone waiting impatiently behind a locked gate or on the 4th floor of a flat with no lift.
“There were days I didn’t sit down even once,” he said. “If I stopped, I’d fall behind.”
The Math That Didn’t Add Up
By week two, Arif stopped counting hours and started counting parcels.
100 a day.
Sometimes more.
Rain didn’t matter. Traffic didn’t matter. Even when his phone battery died, he borrowed a charger just to keep scanning. Every scan felt like money earned.
Petrol alone cost him hundreds. His car needed repairs. His knees ached. His hands shook slightly when he finally lay down at night.
But he kept going.
The Final Delivery
On the last day of the month, Arif delivered his final parcel just after dark. The app chimed, job completed.
He went home, showered, and slept for nearly 12 hours straight.
The next morning, he opened the app to check his earnings.
At first, he thought it hadn’t loaded.
He refreshed.
Then refreshed again.
The number stayed the same.
RM750.
“I Thought It Was a Mistake”
RM750.
For over 2,000 deliveries.
Arif stared at the screen, convinced something was wrong. He contacted support. They replied hours later with a breakdown, base rates, deductions, penalties, “adjustments.”
Petrol? His problem.
Vehicle wear? His problem.
Long routes? “Part of the job.”
After everything was subtracted, that was it.
RM750.
“I didn’t even feel angry,” he said quietly. “I just felt empty.”
Courier work, it turned out, was a gamble. Some won. Many didn’t.
The Part No One Talks About
What most people didn’t see were the aftereffects.
Arif stopped delivering entirely. For weeks, he couldn’t look at parcels without feeling sick. He took a temporary job stacking shelves at night, fewer hours, but at least the pay was clear.
No bonuses. No “performance incentives.”
Just an honest number.
The Lesson That Cost RM750
Looking back, Arif says the money isn’t what hurt the most.
“It’s knowing my time was worth less than I thought,” he said.
He doesn’t hate the job anymore. He hates the silence around it; the way workers are told to hustle harder without being told the real cost.
“I finished the job,” he said. “But the system finished me first.”
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