Samsung Electronics today launched Samsung Newsroom Malaysia, a brand-new hub for local media and consumers to access Samsung-related content.

Samsung Newsroom Malaysia will feature all the latest updates on the company, including its most recent innovations and events, insights on products and services, as well as inspirational stories from Samsung’s citizenship initiatives. Content shared on the platform will include press materials, infographics and videos.

For over a decade, Samsung Malaysia Electronics (SME) has utilized innovations and citizenship initiatives to enrich the lives of people across the country and create positive change in more communities. Over the years, Samsung has become a household name in Malaysia and garnered many awards, including the prestigious Putra Brand Award.

The launch of Samsung Newsroom Malaysia marks the thirteenth Samsung Newsroom, following the Global site, as well as local editions in the United States, Korea, Vietnam, Brazil, India (both in English and Hindi), Germany, Russia, Mexico, the U.K. and Argentina. Samsung Newsroom Malaysia is also the second Newsroom established in Southeast Asia, following Vietnam’s.

For more information, please visit Samsung Newsroom Malaysia at https://news.samsung.com/my/.

Samsung Electronics has adopted a training scheme and a wider commitment to fair and safe treatment of migrant workers. The drive comes at a time when there is increasing interest in migrant workers, particularly in Malaysia. There are already large numbers of migrant workers in the country, particularly in global manufacturing and agriculture supply chains.

Problems of migrant workers in Malaysia also come from its geographical aspect, including the sheer size of Malaysia and its free-flowing border with neighboring Indonesia. In this unavoidable environment, massive improvements based on proactive efforts are necessary to resolve the threatening issues, such as forced labor and exploitation of migrants.

Guidelines

For Samsung, this meant a campaign of activities to make sure workers from overseas are treated fairly. Firstly, the company announced a new set of guidelines at the end of last year. The Samsung Migrant Worker Guidelines with support from BSR (Business for Social Responsibility), came to eradicate forced or coercive labor.

And these guidelines aren’t just for Samsung internally, they are also essential for the company’s partners, labor suppliers, and recruiting agencies to establish an appropriate recruiting culture under the guidelines of the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC).

Clarity is key

Following the Guidelines, Samsung conducted training in March 2017 attended by about 60 people from first-tier suppliers, labor sourcing company and recruitment agencies. Through the training, Samsung hopes to make its employment of migrant workers as transparent as possible. The training was focused on sharing the key aspects of the guideline to explain that commission for recruitment is prohibited, contracts must be provided in the employee’s mother language, and the company must provide travel expenses to enable employees to return to their home countries after the contract term is complete. Additionally, to protect the freedom of the workers, Samsung and its partners are also prohibited from storing employees’ identification cards forcibly.

Because human rights abuses often take place in opaque infrastructures, Samsung will protect workers by giving them full clarity of what their job will entail. They will be fully informed of what to expect from their roles and they will also be told about illegal fees they should avoid before, during and after their employment. All of this will ensure that no employees are working under duress.

One of attendees from Samsung’s partners in Malaysia said “Through the training program, I understood key items that company has to comply with Samsung Migrant Worker Guideline and EICC standard”. The attendee added “I have already started to set up the proper process in the management system”.

Also at the end of the training, HR Senior manager, Mr. Yeap in Samsung Electronics (M) Sdn Bhd highlighted that it was very important to work together with our partners to implement these guidelines and to strengthen fair recruitment process through the supply chain taking into account key stakeholders, such as suppliers, labor sourcing companies and recruitment agencies.

What’s next?

Samsung will continue the training going forward as necessary, but for Samsung, this commitment doesn’t end with the training. In this year, Samsung will conduct an on-site inspection of its partners and labor suppliers. The company will also continue to review its processes to make sure they are fair for all workers.

Forced labor, slave labor and human trafficking are a big problem that will require a staunch effort from companies all over the world. Samsung cannot tackle the issue on its own but the company is playing its part to make a difference and ensure that workers continue to be a priority.

“Samsung Pay is a robust mobile payment platform that not only supports the shift towards digital wallets today, but provides a conducive and future-proof avenue for secure e-payments in Malaysia,” said Mr. Lee Jui Siang, Vice President of the Mobile and IT Business Unit, Samsung Malaysia Electronics. “As Samsung has done with other markets, we have taken a customized approach to our launch in Malaysia, collaborating with key partners to turn swift and secure mobile payments into reality for our users. We are proud to call leading financial institutions and merchants our partners and to introduce Samsung Pay as the most widely accepted mobile payment service in Malaysia. We are working tirelessly to ensure that Samsung Pay is here to stay and this includes our future plans to boost the service through loyalty programmes.”

“We are pleased to bring Samsung Pay to Malaysia – a country which is embarking on an ambitious and exciting path towards a cashless society. Even as we launch this service, however, we must be mindful of how consumer expectations and needs are changing. More and more, consumers are not just looking for a payment service, but an upgrade to their wallets to create a truly digital experience for everyday transactions and activities,” said Thomas Ko, Vice President and Global GM of Samsung Pay at Samsung Electronics. “We envision that Samsung Pay will continue to push the boundaries of what is capable with a phone, and create a truly mobile wallet. We look forward to developing and evolving Samsung Pay and bringing the benefits of this change to our users.”

Vijay Manoharan, CIMB Group Senior Managing Director of Digital Banking and Decision Management, Consumer Banking shared: “CIMB is delighted to work with Samsung Pay to further promote cashless payments and provide our customers with more digital platforms to make secure digital payments. Partnering with leaders in innovation and technology like Samsung further reaffirms CIMB’s support to encourage the use of digital payments, as well as CIMB’s commitment to our customers to make payments, faster and more convenient for them.”

“The Samsung partnership opens yet another digital banking channel that will enhance customer experience and engagement with Citi. Over 40 percent of Citi customers in Malaysia have shown a preference for digital banking. Our global network strengths combined with innovation and technology have enabled us to accelerate the implementation of digital initiatives within the country and see a steady growth across our retail and cards businesses,” said Federico Grigera, Head of Cards and Consumer Lending at Citibank Berhad. “Digitization has and will continue to transform the financial services landscape. Our plan at Citi in Malaysia is to continue to grow the stronghold we have in the digital space and to ensure that customer interactions and experience are truly remarkable. Our new digital banking environment is a commitment to ensure customers have a faster, more personal and revolutionary way of banking.

Maybank Group Chief Strategy Officer Michael Foong said, “We are proud to be the first bank in Malaysia to partner with Samsung for this digital initiative that will bring even greater payment convenience to our cardholders. Having been at the forefront in digitizing banking services in Malaysia over the years, Maybank will continue to cater to changing customers’ needs through innovative solutions that are simple, convenient and safe, in line with our objective of becoming a digital bank of choice in the region.”

“Standard Chartered is pleased to introduce one of many initiatives designed to make banking easy and convenient for our clients – Samsung Pay,” said Aaron Loo, Head of Retail Banking, Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia. “We are rewarding clients, who are early adopters, up to 20 percent cashback for transactions done through Samsung Pay until 30 April 2017. New clients who sign-up for the Standard Chartered credit card will enjoy an additional RM 150 cashback.”

“In Malaysia, we are seeing an encouraging uptake of mobile payments among consumers with a growth rate of more than 40 percent over the past three years. The collaboration is therefore timely as we strive to deliver newer innovations to cater to the rapidly evolving mobile payments space. In this effort, we also look to accelerate the adoption of contactless in-store payments by providing more ways to pay simply, safely and smartly. Together with Samsung, we are excited to support and enhance the acceptance of mobile devices for commercial purposes as we move towards the further advancement of Malaysia’s payments industry,” said Perry Ong, Country Manager, Malaysia and Brunei, Mastercard.

“The launch of Samsung Pay in Malaysia will bring the growth of contactless payments in the country to the next level. Samsung Pay uses Visa Token Service which replaces cardholder information with a unique digital identifier without exposing sensitive account information,” said KB Ng, Visa Country Manager for Malaysia. “Consumers today are already embracing contactless payments, with over two million Visa payWave transactions conducted monthly and double digit month-on-month growth as of January 2017. A recent study that Visa conducted also showed that seven in ten Malaysians are ready to adopt mobile payments and we are confident this growth will continue to accelerate as we move in tandem with the nation’s aim of becoming a cashless society.”

As part of its efforts to provide a seamless experience for Samsung Pay users, Samsung has been actively engaging merchants, providing training to their cashiers and point of sale acceptance signs. To date, over 90 percent2 of merchants ranging from food and beverage outlets, fashion and lifestyle retailers, and supermarkets and department stores in Malaysia have adopted the system and are equipped to offer users the ultimate convenience in mobile payment. More merchants are expected to come on board soon. Along with participating banks and merchants, Samsung Pay’s existing support of loyalty card programmes such as B Infinite, Bonuslink and Sunway Pals in Malaysia will be joined by more loyalty brands in the coming months.

Samsung Pay’s launch in Malaysia continues a broader push towards introducing mobile payments in Southeast Asia and the Asia Pacific region, following recent launches in Australia, Singapore and Thailand. Samsung strives to ensure its services are tailored to local market needs and preferences. To that end, Samsung Pay has consistently introduced localized value-added services, such as compatibility with loyalty cards in Malaysia, public transport in Singapore, prepaid cards in Thailand, membership service in Australia and more. Samsung is continually exploring new features and is looking forward to bringing these to consumers in Malaysia and elsewhere.

In Malaysia, Samsung Pay is currently available for Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, S6 edge+, Note5, Galaxy A5 (2017 and 2016) and A7 (2017 and 2016).

¹ Applicable card type varies depending upon issuer. Specific card types for each bank is stated in table below.

² PoS acceptance rate of Samsung Pay amongst local merchants, calculated based on prioritised top frequented merchants and brand names at the time of its Malaysian launch.

³ Subject to respective banks’ product availability.

“We’re pleased to be a strategic partner of YTL, one of Malaysia’s leaders in innovation,” said Youngky Kim, President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “Today’s LTE commercial launch proves our reliability and loyalty to our partner, supporting the successful evolution to a 4G LTE mobile network on top of the existing 4G broadband footprint.”

“Demand for Internet is growing dramatically in Malaysia. We are proud to have closed the digital divide in Malaysia with our 4G Broadband network,” said Wing K. Lee, CEO of YTL Communications. “And we’re excited to continue the lead as Malaysia’s 4G champion with the launch of the largest and most advanced 4G LTE network that enables Malaysians to enjoy blazingly fast Mobile Internet and High Definition voice using VoLTE – a Malaysia first. Samsung has been supporting our quest every step of the way and today marks yet another important milestone in our strategic partnership.”

Through the strategic partnership between YTL and Samsung, YTL is able to deploy its ‘Brand new Yes 4G LTE network’ using Samsung’s end-to-end 4G LTE solutions, including  network equipment for 2.3GHz and 2.6GHz frequency bands, smartphones and even services such as deployment, optimization, maintenance and more.

Samsung also offered innovative VoLTE solutions. The VoLTE service delivers much clearer High Definition (HD) quality voice calls as well as video calls, seamless voice/video call swapping during mobile calls and the ability to share multimedia like images or website links during calls. These new services are all provided on the basis of an all-IP LTE network.

As a leader in the telecommunications industry, over the past 35 years, Samsung has partnered with a number of global mobile service providers, enabling them to deploy state-of-the-art network solutions in their respective markets.

About YTL Communications Sdn Bhd

Yes, a brand under YTL Communications Sdn Bhd (793634-V), is a global frontrunner in 4G Internet and operates two robust 4G LTE and 4G Broadband networks in Malaysia. It is also the first in Malaysia to offer voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) service for high definition, crystal clear calls. With 85% nationwide population coverage across the country, Yes offers the best of both 4G Internet services together in one convenient plan. The award-wining brand has been recognised by the Broadband InfoVision Awards under the ‘Best New Service’ category in 2011 and ‘Best Broadband Cloud’ category in 2013, Frost & Sullivan’s ‘Most Innovative Service Provider of the Year 2012’ and ‘Most Promising Telecom Service Provider of the Year 2013’ as well as Telecoms.com’s “Best Enterprise Cloud Offering” Industry Award in 2014. For more information, please visit www.yes.my.