Saturday 16 December 2017

A real tough life

On my way to work the other day, I stopped at the NKVE Petronas station to top up my Touch n' Go card and withdraw some cash.

As I was walking to the ATM machine, a lady stopped me. She looked worried and her teenage son who was with her looked sickly.

'Dik, boleh tolong call telephone kakak tak? Anak akak main telephone tadi tertinggal dalam teksi," she said.

So, I dialed the number and gave my phone to her.

A few minutes later the taxi driver arrived at the petrol station and gave her the phone.

The taxi driver had actually found the phone and was on his way back to return it.

The lady was very grateful.

I was a bit puzzled though as to why she took a taxi to go to a petrol station.

"Apasal kak naik teksi datang tempat ni?" I asked.

"Sebenarnya ada orang bagitau akak yang anak-anak akak dapat bantuan. Duit tu dia orang masuk kan dalam akaun akak. Ni lah nak check sebab kat sinilah mesin ATM yang paling dekat dengan rumah akak,"she said.

"Biasanya akak datang sini jalan kaki tapi anak akak ni sibuk nak ikut. Dia demam dah dua tiga hari ni. Tu yang bawak dia naik teksi. Orang teksi tadi tu kenal arwah suami akak, jadi dia tolong hantar kan," she added.

She told me that she stays at a PPR (low cost flats) in Lembah Subang.


It's about five km via a walking short-cut path from the petrol station.

I went on to withdraw some cash from the Maybank ATM while she and her son went to a BSN ATM.

However, after that I saw her looking downcast as she walked away from the machine.

"Kak okay?" I asked as I approached her.

"Duit tu tak ada la dik. Agaknya dia orang belum masuk kan lagi," she said.

I asked how she and her son wanted to go home and she said they intended to walk.

"Anak kak tu nampak tak sihat. Mari saya hantarkan," I told her.

After quite a bit of persuasion she agreed.

It's quite out of my way to work but I'm glad that I offered her the ride.

The drive to her home took about half an hour, and on the short trip I learnt a few things about the poor lady;

- The lady is 48-years-old
- The 11-year-old boy with her is the youngest of her nine children
- Her hometown is somewhere in Perak
- After school, she worked as a domestic helper
- She married her late husband, who was from Kelantan soon after that
- Her late husband drove a taxi and did some small business to earn a living
- Their first home was at a squatter area. Her husband later on bought a low cost house but unfortunately, due to financial difficulties, they lost the house and had to rent the flat at the PPR for the past 10 years. The rent is RM250 per month.
- Her husband died along with a friend in July last year after their pick-up truck crashed head-on into a trailer near Gua Musang. They were on their way to Rantau Panjang to get supplies of goods for their small business. The accident was reported by the media.
- Of her nine children, six are still staying with her. Three of them are still at school.
- Her children who had left home are themselves struggling with their life and can't help her much.
- She now earns a living to support her family by sewing tudung, baju kurung and baju melayu.

"Kalau bulan puasa nak raya tu ramai juga lah orang bagi upah jahit baju. Tapi kalau time biasa macam ni jarang lah," she said.

Listening to her life story, I felt whatever difficulties I face in my life seemed so trivial.

The lady, with very limited education and prospects, have to shoulder such a heavy burden.

It made me wonder why so many people are complaining so much about life while their problems seem minuscule compared to those of the lady.

She did not actually complain much except saying that food and household goods are quite expensive these days.

"Saya sekarang usaha sedaya mungkin untuk anak-anak dan diri saya. Selebihnya saya berdoa pada Allah," she said.

When we reached her flat in Lembah Subang, I handed her some money which she very reluctantly accepted.

"Kak ambik lah ni sikit yang saya mampu tolong. Kak doa kan lah kalau esok lusa saya pulak yang susah, Allah gerak kan hati orang lain tolong saya," I said to her.

Thinking back, I wished I had given her more. The amount I gave her was actually just the usual I spent to buy lunch for friends at a Japanese restaurant. Very thoughtless of me.

32 comments:

  1. Very thoughtful of you Annie

    Prof Kangkung

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  2. What you did was great especially regretting you didnt give more to her.Thats the spirit we should have for our fellow beings.

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  3. Annie,

    Yes the ordinary people are hurting.

    But Malaysian gomen allergic to the truth.

    Remember not even 2 weeks ago Sheila Majid pointed out the problems suffered by rakyat?

    Well, it was NOT plucked from air.

    She was right.

    "The rising cost of living is having a disproportionate impact on lower-income households in Malaysia, with those in urban areas the hardest hit, according to the World Bank.

    Citing data from the Statistics Department on household expenditure, the World Bank said there was a "marked unevenness" in household spending, with lower income groups spending almost 40 percent of their expenditure on food, compared with about 25 percent among the rich.

    "As a result, the poorest households have been disproportionately affected by the build-up of inflationary pressures over the past years with higher relative increases in food prices.

    "This effect has been even more pronounced in urban areas as food price inflation has been higher compared to that in the rural areas," it said in a Malaysian Economic Monitor report."

    In short, Sheila Majid's comments were backed by FACTS.

    But of course all the Pinklips Pirate's dubur-lickers rushed to make it a political issue.

    Cannot have a key figure like Sheila Majid telling people the truth!

    Get "truth" from Bernama, NST, Utuscum, JASA and a few paid cyber-toyols.

    Hmmmmmm.

    No thanks lah.



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  4. sushi king for tangan ghaib. O mymy

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  5. Annie,

    You are waaay too kind for your own good, you know.

    //Very thoughtless of me//

    It is no use beating up yourself for something which you did not cause nor are you responsible for.

    And I suspect that woman's circumstances are NOT unique - there are probably thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of families like that woman's.

    Dirt poor, large families - untuk agama, bangsa dan negara.

    As that woman is from Kelantan, she really should have had another 5 or 6 more children untuk negri.

    She is not really doing her duty there for Kelantan, is she?

    Perhaps Hadi Awang or Nik Abduh will tell her that she is being punished by Allah for not doing her duty to Kelantan.

    She may also be told that she is suffering because it is the fault of the Cina babi, the fault of DAP, the fault of evangelist Christians, the fault of the pendatang, the fault of the Jews.

    Yupe, those pendatang Cina babi in collaboration with the evangelist Christians and Jews have stolen all the riches of the land and that is why she is dirt poor and cannot afford to feed her remaining 6 children.

    Sadly, she will probably believe what she is told and come GE14, she will vote for either one of only two possible parties which will defend her god-given divine right to have even more children, untuk agama, bangsa, negara dan negri.

    The brainwashing has worked in the past, it is working now in the present and there is no reason why it will not work in the future.

    Gladiator

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Please don't use the word "Cina babi" again. Next time I will have to reject the comment. Thank you.

      Delete
    2. This Gladiator comment, Annie, you should have just delete it.

      I read his rambles here many times before and I must say I agree with him lots of times. Many are factual but this one, he is being a dick that has problem erecting. I am sorry for my words. Got to write it that way.

      This attitude of his does not help in any way to undo the mess we Malaysias are already in but to expand it more. One way to undo the mess is to go against the BN which has given birth to lots of mess we have today. Incompetency is not a thing of today.

      Gladiator,
      you do not want to equate all Melayu to the Melayu belaan umno. Engkau kena faham betul betul ada macam macam jenis Melayu. Macam orang Cina jugak bukan semua macam malaikat. Jangan terjah tak tentu arah. Belajar berbahasa sikit.

      Orangair.

      Delete
  6. This proves one thing.

    Even if UMNO runs this country for the next 200 years, we will still be able to make money like always.

    The way UMNO is screwing the their own people and making them weak, we have nothing to worry about.

    I am going to celebrate tomorrow by eating a delicious bowl of Bak Kut Teh.

    Huat ah!!!

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  7. So.... blablabla....basically you wanted us to vote for najib UMNO?

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  8. Annie, you just being a person. Don’t feel bad of not giving more. Take good care...

    Sedago Mimpi

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  9. Jangan bimbang annie, itu hanya sebahagian paling kecil 00.00000000001 di Malaysia daripada 30 juta netizen.

    Berdasarkan regim Najib, irwan siregar..mereka malas. Bagi ahmad maselan..mereka patut ada 2-3 pekerjaan dan dari regim yang sama, budak angkat bakul pasar Rosmah, Rizal Mansor - makcik tersebut adalah penyokong pembangkang sama seperti sheila majid atau fathia latif.

    Kalau ada lagi yang mengeluh anggap sahaja mereka ini kufur nikmat,mengada adakan cerita.

    Ekonomi berkembang pesat dan Bank Dunia pun puji Malaysia, kalau tidak takkan Najib dapat lagi pingat bertingkat tingkat.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Turns out that kindness
    for one another always
    is best for us all

    She helps a mother
    It's her heart lotus blossoms
    Child along the way

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  11. Miss Annie is a good samaritan. May Allah bless your beautiful soul.

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  12. A mother with her 6 children living in PPR flat. With 2 bedrooms. I can’t imagine how could they live in such condition.

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    Replies
    1. Bos,

      Orang yang tak biasa tengok memang tak boleh imagine. Tapi ini memang bukan perkara luarbiasa.

      Delete
  13. Life is not fair. Get used to it. -Bill Gates

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  14. Well done Annie. GBU

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  15. Annie,

    I would have done the same. Minus feeling awful I didn't give more..

    Sedekah kepada yang memerlukan sifat murni yang dituntut apa agama pun. Orang macam irwan serigar memang I imagine would not have encounter like yours. I would like to believe his kind avoids encounter like this. Jadi ramai di antara mereka dah hilang sifat kemanusiaan.

    Sebenarnya orang-orang susah macam makcik ni memang jarang complain. Yang suka complain tak berhenti ialah orang dah dapat kesenangan yang tak pernah puas dibantu. Yang tamak haloba bakal menghuni neraka.

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  16. very kind of you annie.

    but u just stop there with "poor woman" why not continue to ponder why life is hard for her ? is it harder than say 3 years before ?

    In Germany those without job got stipend. not asking gov to do the same but at least dont make our messy life messier.

    here the atas pagar people has gone down to becoming poor. many are suffering the same. some with less problem than her but still live a hard life. some become suicidal for less problem.

    and i have to ask whts your point annie ?

    its true we should sometimes look below us. but that means wht ? we cant voice out that life is hard ? has the makcik become the standard of hard life ?

    if that is so, then our country is ok what ? we shouldnt complain. lets not change anything. wait until u become like the makcik then u can say something about life ?

    i am grateful with what i have. but i still have to say that I wish better for Malaysian !

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  17. Annie, more importantly u gave her your time. Many would just ignore her for fear of being scammed or stopped at lending her the phone for fear of being late.

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  18. At petrol station too, an old couple approached & asked for RM10 only to pump petrol. I told them i hv no money to give them, well im not rich & angelic like annie sigh

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And you're NOT the dumbo chosen one who is blessed with cash is king, billions donation or rezeki dari langit...
      So dumbos are loyal to chosen one or its cash (dedak)???

      Delete
  19. Annie,

    //Please don't use the word "Cina babi" again.//

    Your blog, your rules :)

    I used the phrase within the context of my writing.

    My apologies if anybody felt uncomfortable or insulted.

    Gladiator

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  20. @ 17 December 2017 at 00:16

    Dumber than BKT

    ReplyDelete
  21. Orangair,

    //he is being a dick that has problem erecting//

    Nup, don't have a problem with that.

    //This attitude of his does not help in any way to undo the mess we Malaysias are already in but to expand it more//

    My attitude?

    Exactly what is it about my attitude which annoyed you?

    I am curious.

    //you do not want to equate all Melayu to the Melayu belaan umno//

    Where did I do that?

    //Engkau kena faham betul betul ada macam macam jenis Melayu. Macam orang Cina jugak bukan semua macam malaikat//

    Thank you for pointing out the racial differences in people.

    Allow me to share with you a mental problem I have - I do not think of people in terms of race.

    I never have, even from a young age.

    I think of people as... eeerrr... people.

    Must be bad wiring in my brain I think :)

    Do you recommend that I should start thinking along racial lines?

    //Jangan terjah tak tentu arah. Belajar berbahasa sikit.//

    Please do share the knowledge you have.

    It is by exchanging ideas that we, as a society, learn.

    Gladiator

    ReplyDelete
    Replies


    1. Just ignore him/her, Saudara Gladiator.
      If he/she doesn't understand the context or gist of what you are writing, it is not worth responding to.

      Delete
  22. Annie, sorry, off topic but just got to share this:

    From wa group:

    "Here are some suggestions on the system to replace the now cancelled IMAMS:-

    IMAMS - Integrated Monitoring Affluent Ministers System

    MAKMUMS - Malaysian Advanced Kleptocracy Managing Unsuspecting Ministers System

    SIAKS - Specialized Integrated Anti Kleptocrat System

    BILALS - Bewildered Insensitive Listing And Loophole System

    BAHALOLS - Beleaguered Advanced Haughtiness Administration Laugh Out Loud System

    AZAN - Association of Zombies Assisting Najib"

    LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HA HA HA!!!!

      2 thumbs up bro.......funny!

      Delete
  23. SG,

    //Just ignore him/her//

    Ignore who??

    Heheheh..

    But more seriously, prentending that a situation does not exist does not always make it go away.

    That anon had every right to question my comment.

    I could be wrong, you know.

    Unless and until I am told I am wrong and HOW I am wrong, I could be stupidly wallowing in.my ignorance thinking how clever I am - not.

    This is a problem we have in Malaysia today - people are discouraged from asking questions, from exchanging ideas, from interacting with each other.

    We are taught from young how to recognise figures of authority and as we grow older we are expected to accept what we are told by those "authorities" - without thinking, without question.

    We are not allowed to explore our world by ourselves - that privilege is only for the chosen ones and we ain't chosen.

    As someone told me - to paraphrase, thousands of years ago, an adviser told a Chinese emperor, "A wise emperor knows to keep his subjects stupid".

    A very wise adviser, I say.

    Gladiator

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  24. Semoga Allah membalasmu dengan kebaikan ...Amiiin.

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  25. mr gladiator, sir,

    ur bright is not right dis time. it feels like u kick my cat. how could u stamped on tat poor makcik, her deceased husband n to d assumed tough mannered kalantan people... then calling them as indoctrinated creatures living for sex... n also taken god for d blame game? ….. to me as a kelantan born, tat is uncalled for.

    Its a wholesome mockery. dun call it a truth. as its anyone’s guess…its not a truth! i dun think u can pull out one factor from d equations n think it is true. tat mak cik to me….she is d victim of d situation. people ve to fight their fate but i dun think she can make it without any help from somewhere or somebody.

    sorry/// a little angry tday

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  26. fatin ma'am,

    I apologise if I made you angry.

    Pls don't get too angry.

    If you re-read what I said, the sarcasm is directed at the current political regimes in Putrajaya and in Kelantan.

    //then calling them as indoctrinated creatures living for sex//

    I am not calling anybody anything.

    But, fatin, please let us not be naive.

    The truth is that many Malay families are large.

    Why is that?

    And apparently, the Kelantan govt had recently asked Kelantanese men to each marry more wives and have 12-15 children with each wife.

    Indoctrinated creatures living for sex?

    Hm, not quite I wouuld describe another human being but then others have used more derogatory terms.

    I consider such women to have been misguided and taken advantage of.

    //i dun think u can pull out one factor from d equations n think it is true.//

    And what if the effects of that one factor are seen over and over again in many many cases all over the country?

    Large families, dirt poor, living in cramped conditions, etc etc.

    I think that statistically, they are refered to as the B40.

    Most of us are familiar with that term, B40.

    Wouldn't it be irresponsible to pretend that it is not true?

    //she is d victim of d situation//

    Yes, she appears to be a victim.

    BUT what is the situation?

    What are the causes of that situation?

    //people ve to fight their fate//

    And what tools will people use in this fight?

    So far, the only tools I see that are being offered is religion and yet more religion.

    And, oh, BR1M.

    Pls do not say that we are offering them education.

    The education offered is kangkung education - cannot do this, cannot do that, not allowed to think like this, not allowed to think like that.

    That's not education - that is propaganda.

    //i dun think she can make it without any help from somewhere or somebody.//

    True and this time she met a kind soul in Annie.

    Next time, she may find another kind soul like you.

    And the time after... and the time after the time after that... and the time after the time after...

    And if, one day, she is unable to find kind souls to help her, how?

    And we are not even discussing whether her children will need to find kind souls at some future date.

    fatin, I don't have all the answers we need because I know that some of the answers need to come from the Malay community itself.

    If the Malay community believes that UMNO has been the right thing for them for the last 60 years, OK lah, vote UMNO IN GE14.

    If the Malay community thinks that PAS has all the answers for a successful Malaysia, vote PAS in GE14.

    Me?

    I think the most balanced political party now is Pakatan - balanced in terms of religion, balanced in terms of race, balanced in terms of vision.

    And on that note, I think I had better end this reply or I would be accused of being a Pakatan stooge, which I am not.

    I would happily vote Pakatan out in GE15 and reinstate BN if Pakatan turns out to be a tin kosong.

    The way I see it, if BN loses GE14, most of the deadwood in BN will be trimmed off, so by GE15, BN will be a bit healthier and a bit more focused on the rakyat, instead of themselves and their bank accounts.

    Gladiator

    ReplyDelete