Grab apologises after viral incident in Johor petrol station, but people still aren’t happy

You might’ve seen by now on social media the viral incident involving a Grab delivery rider who was arguing with man, allegedly Singaporean, for purchasing RON95 at a petrol station in Johor Bahru. After the incident made the rounds online, the delivery rider would later claim that his Grab account had been suspended by Grab without any explanation from the Singapore-based company.

This led to widespread consternation among the public, who began calling out Grab with many claiming they were ready to boycott and uninstall the app if the company did not reinstate him. Eventually, Grab would post a statement on their Twitter account at midnight, 23 June 2023, clarifying the matter:

According to Grab, they say that the delivery rider in question was in the midst of food delivery when he stopped by the petrol station to fuel up and was involved in the incident with the alleged Singaporean. Grab then received reports from the public on the incident relating to public safety. They then took precautionary measures by temporarily suspending his Grab account in line with their own code of conduct while they investigated the matter. Upon completion of their investigation, they then reinstated him.

This apology however did not please everyone, as many Twitter users were quick to reply to Grab that they still weren’t happy with how they acted in the situation, calling for users to uninstall the app and to rate it one star on their app store. One particular complaint that was common in the replies to Grab’s tweet was the way they posted their statement. Many weren’t happy that Grab’s reply to the incident was just an Instagram story, followed by a tweet of two screenshots made using the Instagram story feature, rather than in a more formal way.

In any case, the ban on the sale of RON95 petrol to foreign vehicles isn’t a new policy, having been in effect since 2010. The Ministry of Trade and Costs of Living had previously stated that anyone seen selling RON95 to foreign vehicles would be going against the Control of Supplies Act 1961 and would face a fine of up to RM1,000,000 and/or a jail term of up to three years.