My usual routine after work is a stop at a mamak stall which I have been constantly visited since the past 5 years. A glass of nescafe ais, a newspaper and that's it. Whether I finish work at 5pm or 3 am, I'll make sure that I have my daily dose of caffeine there.
And if you're been frequenting a restaurant for 5 years like me, it wouldn't be strange if you have a friendly relationship with the workers. For me, those Indian nationals who serve me drinks everyday is a lot more courteous and intelligent than most people I know. There's one guy, Sithik, who even have a Masters in IT. But still, he works here in Malaysia, serving food and drinks, 12 hours a day, with no day off. Whn I ask him why, he scratched his head,
"Banyak susah la met. Kerja sana gaji tada cukup. Sini kerja, saya boleh kasi saya punya mak sama ayah macam-macam", said the guy with a distinct Indian slang.
Speechless, I just smiled and nodded, as if I understand what he's going through.
These past few months, a new guy arrived at the restaurant. His name is Hameed. He was still struggling with his BM, so, I gave him a few pointers on how to communicate in our language. Still, everytime I try to teach him, he'll just shake his head in amusement and ask for his 'senior' friend to help him understand what I was saying.
"Ini orang, dia susah mau faham abang", said Nagoor, the 'senior' guy laughing at his naive new friend.
"Takpe. slow-slow.nanti oklah. macam you jugak", I said referring to the time when Nagoor was new. But now, he's improved a lot.
And surely enough, Hameed improved. He now understands the basic things in BM. At least I can share a laugh with him now.
One day, while I was having my daily drink, a group of students from the university nearby sat at a table next to mine. Everything was ok at first, but then of the guy from the group started cursing Hameed in BM for being inefficient etc.
"Tak baik ko cakap macam tu. kesian dia", said one of the girls in the group. (At this point, I'm just not sure how sincere she is because she was laughing hard while she said that.)
"Lantaklah. bukannya dia paham. tu sebab diorang keje macam ni", said the guy.
What the f%$k?!!!!!
Just who the f%$k do you think you are??!!
I was so mad, I started clenching my fists real hard without realizing it.
After a while, I just ignored the gang. The fact that I had just sat next to a dumbass whose brains may be smaller than the size of his "you know what" made me think that I should stick my middle finger to his face and gave him a good beating.
Later, as the gang were leaving the reastaurant, Hameed walked to my table. He smiles to me and shake his head.
"Abang, itu orang ingat saya tatau dia apa cakap. Kenapa dia cakap itu pun saya tatau. Apa pasal dia tada cakap macam abang?cakap baik-baik?," he scratched his head.
I was speechless. Again.
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