Just last week, a video that showed the confrontation between a Malaysian Grab rider in Johor and 2 Singaporean men went viral. The incident took place at a gas station in Iskandar Puteri, where the 2 Singaporean men were called out for filling up petrol into a small barrel.
While the argument was eventually resolved and the Grab rider withdrew his police report, something else went viral on social media – “Uninstall Grab“. Many Malaysians joined the “parade” to uninstall the food delivery application after the said rider claimed that his account had been suspended by Grab. Netizens were enraged by the rider’s fate and many made it clear that they were ready to boycott and bid farewell to the application if Grab did not reinstate the rider.
You can read some of the comments below.
“Grab should’ve held a media conference and publicly apologised to the rider. He’s Malaysia’s hero.”
The rage online did not take long to reach Grab’s attention and by June 22, Grab released an official statement to clarify the matter via their Twitter account.
“We have a code of conduct, and we apologise”
The company said that after the incident, they had received reports about the matter from the public relating to public safety.
“We do have a code of conduct in place to protect our community of users and partners, which is centered on service quality and safety.”
Following the reports, Grab temporarily suspended the rider’s account as a precautionary measure, which followed their protocols for managing safety incidents. Grab also assured the public that the said rider has since been reinstated, and apologised for the matter.
“We do apologise especially to our partner if he felt unjustly treated.”
Grab added that the precautionary step may seem harsh to others but said that they were merely being hypervigilant when it comes to safety-related issues. You can read the full statement via the tweet below.
Grab Official Statement
Following a viral incident of a Grab delivery-partner who was suspended after an altercation at a petrol station in Johor, we would like to clarify this matter. For more details, please read our full statement attached pic.twitter.com/yo8Q644uWx
— Grab Malaysia (@GrabMY) June 22, 2023
On Friday (June 23), PDRM confirmed that they are on the hunt for the Singaporean men and the matter is being investigated under Section 506 of the Penal Code, according to a police statement. We’re glad the rider has managed to secure his job back and hopefully, the case will be closed immediately. In the meantime, in 2022, the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Costs of Living issued a statement and said that users are not allowed to fill petrol or diesel into a barrel unless permitted by an officer.
