Najib's brother criticised for driving people around for AirAsia Ride & saying RM67 is good money

He made RM67 over four hours.

Faris Alfiq| September 20, 2021, 11:17 PM

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Prominent banker Nazir Razak, the younger brother of former Malaysia prime minister Najib Razak, "moonlighted" as a private hire driver as a promotional stunt for AirAsia's ride-hailing service, AirAsia Ride.

The eight-minute video featured Nazir, who was wearing a red t-shirt with an AirAsia logo and a cap, driving around Kuala Lumpur and picking up passengers.

The video which was posted on Sep. 16 has garnered more than 51,000 views on YouTube.

In total, he picked up five passengers, including the executive chairman of the AirAsia group.

Drew ire for his comments

After four hours of driving and picking up passengers, he said he had a "really good time" and enjoyed it.

The former CIMB chairman managed to earn RM67 (S$21) without tips.

He said that if he really puts his back into it, he could probably gain RM250 (S$80) a day, over six or seven days.

"It's a pretty good living, I think," he added.

Bad taste

However, Nazir's comments were off-putting, according to Malaysians.

One Twitter user, @seiyfisl, wrote: "RM67/4=RM16 an hour. This is before taking into consideration the cost of petrol, maintenance and depreciation over the next nine years. He only does this as a hobby, not to find a source of income. Rich people should not give stupid comments."

Another user, @esshimself, said that Nazir's comment of making RM200 a day requires a driver to drive around 12 hours.

He added that Nazir did not clarify whether RM67 was before or after platform fees deductions.

One Twitter user called Nazir "not a good banker" as he failed to take into account depreciation and cost of fuel, among others.

Some wise words from Nazir Razak

Other than his comments on his earning, in the video, Nazir took the chance to chat with some of the passengers he picked up.

Naturally, if one was being picked up by a prominent banker, one needed to ask for financial tips.

One passenger asked Nazir: "Do you have any tips for a millennial who doesn't have her first million yet?"

His wise words? "You got to play it safe."

Nazir's words shocked the passenger with her exclaiming, "Really? That's your tip?"

He then clarified that when it comes to finances, he was "very conservative".

Nazir then explained to the passenger that he meant to "play it safe in terms of your savings".

Another passenger asked Nazir how it felt to be the son of Malaysia's second prime minister, Abdul Razak Hussein.

Abdul Razak has been dubbed the father of development in Malaysia.

“Of course, I’m extremely proud of my father’s achievements," he said and added that sometimes he was bothered when he reflected on what were his father's dreams and the reality of today.

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Top images via screengrab AirAsia Super App/YouTube and @nazrazak/Twitter