Thivashini Rajamanickam, a Malaysian woman, took to Instagram to recount an alleged racist incident involving a Grab driver recently.
On her Instagram, Thivashini wrote that on Wednesday, she had booked a Grab ride from Kuala Lumpur to the Asia Jaya LRT Station and while waiting for the driver, received a text message at 10:40 pm stating that the driver does not pick up customers who drink alcohol.
“I’m sorry I don’t take customers [who drink] alcohol,” the driver texted her on the Grab app.
The driver assumed Thivashini was drunk, but she clarified that she was leaving work to go home.
After Thivashini replied to the driver in confusion, he sent another text via the Grab app stating that he could not tolerate the smell of alcohol.
Despite Thivashini’s requests for the driver to cancel the ride so she could book another one, which was ignored as shown in the screenshot, she had to resort to calling her sister for help.
Her sister assisted in booking a new Grab ride for her.
During this time, Thivashini filed a complaint with Grab citing several grievances, such as racism and abandonment by the driver.
She described the driver’s behavior as blatantly racist and based on her ethnicity and the fact that it was a night ride.
“Just because I’m an Indian, your driver made the assumption that I was intoxicated when I requested a Grab ride at night. This is blatant racism at its worst. This is absolute nonsense and is not ethical at all,” she said in her post.
Grab Malaysia has apologized for the unpleasant experience and stated that such behavior is not accepted on the platform.
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