Grab is kicking off its round of expansion exercise to more rural cities and townships in the Southern and Northern regions of Malaysia. Announced at the Desamall@Mersing, Johor launch and officiated by Minister of Rural Development, Datuk Dr. Hj. Abd Latiff Ahmad, the expansion includes Mersing and Segamat in Johor, Cameron Highlands, Pantai Remis and Baling.
The expansion is part of homegrown Grab’s ongoing journey to help create further opportunities for gig workers and businesses to grow, and strike a balance to sustain the industry. It is part of Grab’s efforts to ensure no one is left behind in the digital economy especially in rural communities where median incomes are 41% less than median incomes of the urban population according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
Part of the plan includes making GrabCar available in Mersing and Segamat by end of September 2020 onwards followed by GrapPay-powered GrabFood and GrabMart services slated to launch in the fourth quarter of this year.
“As a proponent of the digital economy, we are proud to bring our technology to these communities to provide Malaysians with more safe, reliable and affordable solutions. At the same time, we are creating more income opportunities across our wide ecosystem of services that includes transport, food and mart especially in the rural areas. With this expansion, we also look forward to working with local councils and partners to further support the economic activities in these areas, so they are empowered to thrive in the digital economy” said Ben Chin, Head of Outer Cities, Grab Malaysia.
Grab has also extended their “Pakej Pikul Bersama” initiative to include new driver-partners on the platform by providing a one-off reimbursement up to RM120 for their PSV licenses and RM70 for initial PUSPAKOM vehicle inspections. The “Pakej Pikul Bersama” initiative is designed to help driver-partners get through the regulations process when it was first announced by the Ministry of Transport in 2019.
