When it comes to e-hailing and food delivery services, Grab is a household name that is always on everyone’s lips within and outside of Malaysia.
Given this, there has been a debate over which country the giant company came from, with one e-hailing driver claiming that it originated from Singapore.
‘Grab’s a Singapore product!’
In a Threads post, a Malaysian woman recounted her experience of taking a Grab ride while she was in Singapore.
During the ride, the driver commented that she had little trouble booking a Grab ride which had a booster seat for her child and asked whether Grab was available in Malaysia.
When the OP said yes, the driver quipped: “It’s a Singapore product, you know. Power, right?”
She wrote: “I just smiled and said, “Yes uncle… very good.” Little did he know…Grab actually started in Malaysia. We missed a golden opportunity, didn’t we?”
Netizens bemoan missed opportunity
In the comments, netizens agreed with the OP’s observation that Malaysia had missed out on a lucrative investment opportunity and handed it to Singapore on a silver platter.
So…Grab actually belongs to who?
According to NLB, Grab was the brainchild of Anthony Tan, a Malaysian who graduated from Harvard and is part of the family that founded Tan Chong Motor Holdings Berhad, one of Malaysia’s biggest automobile businesses.
It officially launched as MyTeksi in Malaysia in 2012 and later expanded into Singapore, the Philippines, and Thailand in 2013, and Indonesia in 2014.
After achieving unicorn status in 2015, the company established its headquarters in Singapore and rebranded as Grab in 2016.
Today, Grab operates in more than 400 cities across eight countries and offers e-hailing, food delivery, groceries, payments and e-commerce services.
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