Grab Malaysia offers RM800 for locals to join the gig economy

GRAB Malaysia is offering RM800 in value to any Malaysian who signs up as a driver-partner up to March 31. In addition, the gig economy launched GrabBenefits, a flagship programme to help its driver community save and spend better.

Grab Malaysia country head Sean Goh (picture) said Grab Malaysia's mission right from the start has been to provide safe and convenient transportation options, while improving the livelihood of Malaysians.

“Last year alone, Grab Malaysia's community of drivers and delivery partners added over RM3 billion to their household income. We are fully committed to ensuring that ride-hailing continues to play a key role in supporting the Malaysian household,” he added in a statement yesterday.

The RM800 in value offer consists of a RM500 sign-up bonus and RM300 of subsidies to help new drivers with regulatory costs, including medical, training, exams, vehicle inspection and licensing.

In a recent study, Malaysia's unemployment rate in 2020 could reach up to 3.6% — an increase from 3.3% in 2019 — with an estimated 37,260 people being laid off last year. Grab Malaysia said the tech-driven gig economy could help Malaysians not only supplementing a healthy household income, but also to provide a safety net to help tide them over in times of need.

In line with the 12th Malaysia Plan, Grab Malaysia aims to safeguard the welfare of gig economy participants with a social safety net, which includes GrabInsure Personal Accident insurance and Grab Daily Insurance to protect both drivers and passengers on every job, as well as Zakat contribution plans.

Meanwhile, GrabBenefits is a first of its kind benefits programme for the local gig economy, consisting of savings across four categories: Fuel rebates, vehicle maintenance and accessories, healthcare, and lifestyle and travel. With GrabBenefits, drivers can access savings across brands such as Petronas, Liqui Moly, Shell Advance, Qualitas Medical, Lourdes Medical, Digi, Mitsui, Chubb Insurance, Zakat (Kuala Lumpur and Selangor), Kaodim, GrabFood, GrabRewards and GrabPay.

“Grab Malaysia intends to lead the way by being the first in the industry to introduce a holistic programme to help our drivers across the Grab ecosystem save and spend better. We promise to continue to invest in delivering the best benefits for our driver-partner community,” said Goh.

Grab's tiered rewards system for their driver-partners is based on the Grab users' GrabRewards system, which consists four loyalty tiers: platinum, gold, silver and member. The tiering is based on the number of rides completed, cancellation rates and driver ratings.

Additionally, with the new GrabBenefits rewards system, platinum driver-partners will also have special access to GrabRewards on the consumer-facing Grab super app and GrabInsure's Personal Accident coverage.