The Malaysian Insight

I HAD a very interesting conversation with my Grab driver yesterday.

“Kak, where are you coming from?” he asked after helping me put my luggages into his car trunk.

“London,” I answered short.

“Work or holiday?” he asked, slamming down his trunk.

“Holiday,” I wasn’t really into the mood for a chat.

“Best-nya. I have never been there,” he admitted.

As we drove away from the international arrivals, feeling much relaxed, I decided to continue the friendly chat.

“Do you like travelling?”

“Of course!”

“Where have you been to?”

He chuckled.

“Actually, I have never travelled out of Malaysia,” he said, his eyes glued to the road. “Not even Bangkok. Not even Singapore.”

“Is this your full time job, driving Grabcar?” I asked frankly.

“No-lah. This is just part-time. I am an engineering graduate. I work as a mechanical engineer. But money is tight-lah kak,” he answered, honestly.

“But I thought you have the golden egg laying goose on your side?” I teased, making reference to Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib’s statement recently where he referred to Umno as the “goose that lays the golden egg” for the Malays.

He laughed, clearly getting my joke.

“Obviously the goose only lays eggs for certain people,” he answered with a smirk on his face.

I smiled thinking of the time when Muhammad was arrested with a bag loaded with 19 kg of undeclared “golden eggs” aka cash in Australia in 1996.

“Honestly, what do you think about UMNO’s stand that only Malays should lead Malaysia because they are the keepers of the Malays’ golden eggs?” I asked.

“Kak, I come from a big family in Johor. I have eight siblings. My dad is a retired army personnel. Since young, we have been trained to work hard. We have been taught that nothing rolls into our path nor does it fly onto our laps. Everything takes effort, without which we will never succeed.”

I listened to the man in his early thirties, quite impressed.

“When we were kids, my brothers and I used to spend our weekends and holidays collecting coffee beans. We were paid by the owners of the coffee plantation according to how many biscuit tins of coffee we could collect. Our parents made it clear that it wasn’t their responsibility alone to raise us, for we had responsibilities upon ourselves to improve our lives too.

“Today I teach my three kids the same thing. I teach them that no one will help them if they do not try to help themselves

“Just the other day, my four-year old daughter came to me, complaining of not being able to place her towel onto the rack. Instead of doing it for her, I told her to think of a way which would enable her to get the job done herself. After numerous times of trying, she finally discovered a way. I was so proud!”

We both smiled.

“That’s a brilliant parenting style. That is how champions are made,” I commended him.

“You know kak, in my family of eight, I am the only one who graduated from university. If we, the Malays, really do have the goose which lays golden eggs on our side, I wonder where is our share?” his voice was intense.

“How should I address you?” I asked.

“Wak. All my friends call me Wak,” he said.

“Well Wak, when I was flying to and from London, I noticed something quite astonishing. There were a few Malay families travelling business class, with children and all. I made a simple math calculation in my head and was gobsmacked upon deriving the total sum they must have paid for such luxury,” I exclaimed.

“Maybe they are the recipients of the golden egg. Or maybe it is their ‘rezeki’ “, he said calmly.

“Yes, maybe.” 

“You know kak, I have lived in a few places since I migrated from Johor. I have lived in places like Rawang, Putrajaya and Shah Alam – in all those places, I see people behaving exactly in the same manner

“Be it Malays, Chinese, Indians or the Lain-lains, we actually have no issue among us. We are capable of living together quite perfectly, actually. 

“I do not see the need to lure the Malays with any golden eggs. After all, the Chinese are capable of making it big time without any golden eggs, so why can’t we?

“On top of that, if Tan Sri Muhammad’s goose refuse to lay any golden eggs for the Malay community for the past 60 years, what makes us think it would do so now?” he asked.

“Perhaps its because the egg laying season is nearby, you know, the election…” I teased.

He chuckled.

As we reached my destination, Wak had one last thing to say.

“Honestly kak, I don’t care who my leaders are, as long as they are Malaysians and they fight for the betterment of Malaysia. I will never vote for anyone based on any golden eggs.”

Wak is indeed the new generation of Malaysian Malays who are nurtured to be wise, independent and hardworking – those like him are the generation who will save Malaysia.

Malay leaders such as Tan Sri Muhammad could actually learn a thing or two from ordinary Malaysians like Wak. But then again, like a pack of geese, I suppose they prefer pecking others who are not of the same kind while making loud irritating noises. 

After all, that is what they’re good at – besides laying ‘telur busuk’ (rotten eggs) that is. – October 5, 2017.

* Fa Abdul is a passionate storyteller and a resident agitator of the idiots in society. Well-known for her straight-talking sarcasm and occasional foul mouth, she juggles between her work as a writer, producer and director.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.