Jun 3, 20203 min read

Malaysian Companies That Stepped Up During The Covid-19 Pandemic

The Movement Control Order (MCO) announcement following the spike in COVID-19 cases was made quite suddenly in March, but some companies stepped up to show that they cared about their customers soon after the news broke and have continued to do so.

According to the market research firm, Vase.ai's survey of 1,083 Malaysians in April, the names of ten companies reappeared many times throughout the survey, with five deserving of special mentions.

The list shows the efforts taken by the company before and after the survey was conducted, so we know that the companies didn't just do whatever they did for a while before abandoning the efforts.

Here are some of the companies that made it to the list and their contribution.

1) Astro

What would we have done without all the shows and movies to keep us entertained when we were stuck at home? Since the beginning, Astro took proactive steps to help keep Malaysians entertained. What did they do?

Astro has been giving free access to Learning, News, Stay Home Concern, and selected Movie Channels to all its existing customers via satellite and Astro Go.
Malaysians who were not Astro customers are also able to watch its content via Astro Go for free.

2) Digi

Digi worked fast when MCO was announced and offered free data to its users and extra perks to its businesses using its services. Some of the initiatives by the company include:

Additional internet data for every RM10-RM30 reloads for prepaid customers.
Additional 1GB
data every day for postpaid customers, which could be redeemed on its app.
Free 24/7 data access for school children on Digi's learning hub, jomstudi.com and others

3) Celcom

Another telco company that showed initiative to help its customers during this difficult time by offering for data and extension on bill payment period. Some of the initiatives by Celcom are:

6 hours instead of 3 hours of Unlimited Internet access via Celcom Xpax Ultra Hour pass, at only RM2.
Postpaid customers were given an extra week to settle their bills.
10% cashback for Celcom Xpac customers who reload RM10 and above on its app and more.

4) Maxis

Looks like telco companies are dominating this list. Maxis came up with the #kitasapotkita initiative to encourage Malaysians to help each other, on top of other perks given to its customers. Some of its initiatives are:

Encouraging Malaysians to watch and share "Make It Through" music video, with the revenue from it being donated to Yayasan Kebajikan Negara Malaysia.
Businesses were also encouraged to share their stories through the #kitasapotkita program.
and others.

5) Dettol

The company that is most popular for its antiseptic and cleaning products came up with a campaign to educate Malaysians on the truth and myths surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. What the company did:

Ensure that Malaysian's received the correct messages about COVID-19
Sharing guides on the correct ways of using hand sanitizers and educational videos on COVID-19 under their #HygieneStartsWithYou campaign.
Organize a contest encouraging Malaysians to show off their best handwashing method in a fun way using Tik Tok.

Other companies that made it to the list were U Mobile, Unifi, Gardenia, Shopee, and Grab. The five companies that received special mentions were Nestle, Watsons, Ayam Brand, McDonald's and Lifebuoy.