This Malay neighbor of mine got married 4 yrs ago. Know him well enough to be
invited to his wedding party. Malay wedding for me was quite an eye opener... so
colorful. After he got married he stayed at his mom's 2-room flat with 2
unmarried brothers, his mom and dad ...and wife. Altogether 6 people in one
small flat but everything was quite alright.
His first child was born 3 years ago and
2nd child was born 2 years ago. Working as a dispatch rider his pay was
$800-$1000. When his 2nd child was born, really too crowded so his wife and his
mom started quarreling. So he decided to move out because cannot "tahan"
anymore. He tried to rent a place from HDB but there was a queue so he apply and
wait. In the meantime how? He tried to look for place to rent but his $1K after
pay rent not even enough to buy milk powder. Quite frustrated he move his whole
family to JB since the 2 young kids didn't go to school, it was no problem. Rented an
apartment for RM$400 then everyday commute to work like Johoreans working in
Singapore.
One year ago he got his taxi license and decided to drive
taxi. However, he worked out that if he moved his family back to Singapore, will
be too financially stretched so he continued staying in JB. Taxi driver also
need a period to ramp up their earnings....initially might have to make losses
because not familiar with road and strategy. Everyday he would park his taxi at
a place near Woodlands then take the bus into JB to be with his family. If he
drive the taxi into JB, he would have to pay RM$30 per direction so he decided
to save this cost. So everyday for 1 year, he took bus to Woodlands to drive his
taxi and then every evening...late at night, he left his taxi in Woodlands and
take the bus to JB..to save the RM$30. Sometimes we go into Malaysia, we
complain customs and immigration too slow and time consuming...imagine doing it
everyday for 1 whole year.
After 1 year he was able to save $13,500 and
his skill in driving taxi and looking passengers improved. With this confidence,
he took his family back to Singapore where his heart belongs so that he could be
back near his extended family. HDB also granted him a rental flat so he has a
place to stay.
In our society, we like to say certain races don't work
hard and so on. Some believe people are poor because they don't work hard
enough. We like to stereotype people....we only make these conclusions out of
prejudice and ignorance. The fact is the poor works harder than most of us, they
are poor because they are in jobs that underpay for their labour...we don't
understand the pain they go through and their struggles.
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