Hired, then what? Malaysia’s deaf workers push past entry-level jobs
Yap Yee Lin has been serving espresso at a Starbucks in Malaysia since 2012, longer than many of his colleagues have worked anywhere. But it was only last year, after 13 years with the company, that he was promoted to shift manager at a branch in Kuala Lumpur’s Bangsar Village II. The wait says less about Yap, who is deaf, than it does about how rare that kind of promotion still is for deaf…
Yap Yee Lin, a 36-year-old deaf man, has worked at a Starbucks in Malaysia since 2012 but only recently received a promotion to shift manager. This promotion is rare for deaf workers in the Southeast Asian nation, highlighting the challenges they face in gaining career advancement. Starbucks Malaysia launched its first "Signing Store" in 2016, a store staffed by deaf baristas working alongside hearing colleagues trained in sign language.
This innovative concept has since become a flagship for corporate inclusion, offering deaf employees the opportunity for independent growth and promotion. The company now operates more than 26 Signing Stores globally, with the ultimate goal of making inclusion a standard practice across all its branches. However, workplace stigma and a scarcity of sign language interpreters remain barriers to hiring more workers with disabilities in Malaysia.
Despite these challenges, there have been strides in disability employment, with over 4,209 people with disabilities holding civil service jobs in 2024.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
