Uber Malaysia, a popular ride-sharing facility in Malaysia, made history on 3 December when its first baby was born during a ride, just 5km from the hospital.
Roy Affendi Annuar, the Uber driver, certainly had no idea of the eventful day he would enjoy when he picked up Abdul Jamil Amil and his daughter-in-law, Norhashima Noordin, 29, at their home in Bandar Enstek, Nilai early in the morning.
“I could not drive because of an injury. Hence, I needed someone to drive us to the hospital so that I could care for my daughter-in-law instead,” Jamil said.
It was Jamil’s first time using Uber. He had just downloaded the app two days before.
And it was a lucky thing that Jamil was quick about using it because Norhashima, whose due date was actually 7 December, went into labour early with her husband still outstation.
It was also fortunate that Roy accepted the drive, as it was early in the morning and the ride from Nilai to Pantai Hospital in Kuala Lumpur was 56km-long via the PLUS highway.
Happy grandfather Jamil describes Roy as a “hero” for being so obliging when Norhashima gave birth just 5km from the hospital.
“We thought there was still time but we were just 5km away when Norhashima gave birth in the car! Everything happened so quickly and the next thing I heard was a baby crying. We were all in shock.
“Roy kept on driving until we reached the hospital. I kept apologising for what had just happened, but Roy was so kind and didn’t make a fuss. He just helped us all the way,” Jamil said.
Mother and child received the appropriate medical attention at the hospital.
Roy says that he never expected to have a baby being born in his car but he was happy about it nevertheless.
“It’s incredible. I was just happy to be able to provide a ride for Jamil and his daughter-in-law when they needed it the most,” he says.
The baby girl, who is now fondly known as “Uber Baby”, Norhashima’s second child with husband, Muhammad Syahir Abd Jamil, 27. They have named her Safiyya Auliya.
Baby Saffiya and family have been gifted 123 free rides. Uber Malaysia also waived the cost of the ride for Jamil, covered the cost of Roy’s Myvi clean up and presented Roy with a token reward.