Grab shines light on positive contributions of deaf community in Malaysia

Grab has released two videos as part of its GrabForGood initiative to empower the deaf community and continue its support and collaboration with differently-abled organisations and individuals. "Breaking the Silence" showcases the story of deaf Grab driver Joey Kow, and "The Bassment" highlights a story of community through a restaurant run by brothers with disabilities.

The GrabForGood: Break the Silence initiative was rolled out in 2018 to empower the deaf community through the Grab platform. The initiative aims to offer income opportunities, minimise communication barriers, and improve the app to better support deaf drivers. 

According to Grab Malaysia's country marketing head, Hassan Alsagoff, the company wants to raise more awareness of the positive contributions of persons with disability within Malaysia through the stories. It also wants to demonstrate the power of technology to create opportunities for a more inclusive culture.

Meanwhile, Ensemble's GM Phang Mei Jeng said the videos were launched with a specific aim to highlight the need for a more disability-inclusive and accessible world through the GrabForGood initiative. She explained that there is a perceived fear that deaf drivers are not as safe as normal drivers. However, statistics by the World Federation of the deaf indicate that deaf drivers are less likely to be involved in road accidents. 

“We hope to humanise the lives of PWD and show how positive support can have a major impact across different communities and businesses, especially in the backdrop of the pandemic," Phang said.

Separately, reports about the potential merger between Grab and Gojek in Singapore have been swirling online. Grab CEO Anthony Tan reportedly said in an internal note that it is "well placed to make acquisitions", and both companies were also reported to have "made substantial progress" to merge. Shortly after, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) said it is looking into the potential merger of Grab and Gojek and have written to the parties for more information. The spokesperson told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE previously that under Singapore's competition law, section 54 of the Competition Act (Cap. 50B) prohibits mergers that have resulted, or may be expected to result, in a substantial lessening of competition.

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