STRANGERS can really be friendly sometimes. I parked at the Gurun rest area along the North South Highway just before 8am today. After about five hours on the road since 2am with a couple of stops earlier, we are all hungry.
I saw several men tucking into nasi lemak packed in the traditional way - banana leaf and all. It looked too good to resist. I went round to all the stalls but couldn't find anyone selling them.
As I passed the four men, I asked them where did they buy the stuff. "We brought from home Abang...specially cooked for breakfast on the highway!"
Wah! Must be really good, I thought. Sheepishly, I walked away and got a table and was ready to tuck into some boring sandwiches and meehoon. How I wish I could get one of nasi lemak bungkus for breakfast, I said in my heart.
Lo and behold! One of the four men walked over with one bungkus for me! He didn't feel good and insisted I have one. What can I say. Malaysians are friendly. And sharing is one of their many qualities. Which is why this is a great country, say what you like!
Enjoy the weekend!
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10 comments:
datuk,
can not agree more with you, that's malaysia!
another important point, Datuk,
the power of asking!
Sdra,
What are you doing so early in the morning in my state?
Ah, nasi lemak bungkus!
Brings back memory. My mother used to bekal me nasi lemak bungkus upih. We cycled 5 kilometres from our village to the sekolah melayu in Pendang.
During the rainy season, we were covered in mud. During the dry, in dust.
We always had our breakfast in the rubber small holding adjacent to the school. There we did our things too...:-)
On your way back, try nasi lemak ikan masih at the Bukit Gantang rest area. I was in Alor Setar few days ago accompanying a friend on the courtesy call to new Kedah MB, Ustaz Azizan, a jolly fella and he made a lot of sense.
We had mee Abu but had no time for the cucur udang.
Have fun. Cheers!
All is not lost, My Friend... and I won't even asked whether they are Malays or Indians or - for that matter, Chinese.
Reminds me of a story told by the late Richard Ho, Malayan Banking Deputy Chairman and one of MCA's Big guns at one time..
He and his family was driving along the old malaysian road during fruit season, in those days..
They came upon a couple plucking rambai besides the road. The lady was picking the fruits while the man was up in the tree doing the plucking.
Datok Richard Ho asked if he could buy some of the rambai because the children were asking for them. He was told by the wife that the Rambai wasn't for sale..
So they drove on expecting to come up with the fruit along the way ahead. But there were no rambai sold any where. Not to disappoint the children Richard Ho decided to turn back and ask if it is at all possible to buy the fruits even at any price reasonable..
When he asked the wife again, she call up to her man up the tree to ask what to do..
" Tak ape le, bagi le ke deme buah buah tu.. jangan ambik duit, sebab buah nya tak berapa manih.."
..It's allright.. give them the fruits and don't take their money, the fruits are not that sweet.."
Just a story rememberred..
most of us have similar stories to tell ... seronok, unik dan bangganya menjadi malaysians. lebih bangga lagi selepas kita berpeluang duduk di dalam era selepas PRU12. walaupun senario politik dan tampuk pemerintahan bertukar (bagi setengah2 negeri) harap keunikan berkongsi nasi lemak dana buah ini tidak akan terkikis dana hilang begitu sahaja. - mantea
Most Malaysians are cool, friendly peeps, regardless of race. It's the mob mentality that kinda frightening some.
That with a few idiots and chauvinists here and there that spoil the fun.
That's nice Datuk.
Malaysian, what else should I say? Deep down, we're all here to live together.
We all know it. We all know it only too well.
Baik-baik jalan Datuk.
sedap tak ?
Sedap tak sedap, orang dah bagi, FOC.. orang berbudi kita berbahasa, orang memberi kita merasa..
Dear Datuk,
It is Malaysia, true. But something must be said about the person asking too. You are a gentle human being and your yearning must have moved them to give !
I hope you will get lucky with your yearnings in other areas too...especially when you yearn for so many "dishes" whilst we are having breakfast at Nirwana Maju ;-)
Cheers
Dash
I remember one of my working trips outstation, and my european wife had been nagging me that we were living in the tropics ...malaysia and she wanted the coconut tree , beautiful palms, the short kind. with orange coconuts and I had tried to find the shoots or plant but to no avail, semunya hijau. well i was travelling on the parit sulong road towards batu pahat and lo and behold orchards and orchards of these variety orange coconuts midget trees., so i stoped my car and this was hari raya puasa day and I drove into the compound and the malay family came out to see this atrange car and stranger still this bald brown guy, so I asked the pakcik, 'pakcik minta maaf, masuk kawasan pakcik nak bertumpang tanya sikit, saya ni dari kl dah lama cari pokok kelapa macam ni, pakcik nak tanya kalau ada pucuk atau pokok muda saya boleh beli, pakcik started asking his wife and they agreed yes the had some plants, young coconuts with shoots but the place infeste with red ants, so i said tak pah lah looking a little bit dejected, being under the impression that I was getting the brush off, but no, it was not that, just that they were expecting guests and they were expected any time, but pak cik karim rahmathullah, grabbed a cankul and he led me to the shoots, bloody hell talk about red ants they were the big kind, and pak cik karim was dressed up in traditional sarong and all , kan raya, so he started digging, got bitten, i took the cankul from him, and got the plant and told me that was a male i need a second one which is female, long story short, visitors arrive they start to help after which they insisted I STAY FOR LUNCH, I AM A SIKH AND THEY HAD BEEF AND WHEN I EXPLAINED, THAT I DONT TAKE BEEF, THEY WENT TO THE SHOWCASE AND TOOK OUT THEIR DECORATIVE PLATES AND SERVED ME RAYA LUNCH SANS BEEF, ONE OF THE BEST MEALS i've had, after everything when I insisted to pay a rm 100 for the shoots the were a littttttle bit not too happy, to them it was an insult to accept money, and I was thinking to myself, if this was a tuan in any govt office he will insist I pay him coffee money for doing his job, so since he insisted he didn't want the money, I said thank you very much and left. went down to B.P. CALLED UP ONE OF THE COMPANY SUPPLIERS AND ASKED HIM TO OPEN HIS STORES BOUGHT UP, CAKES GROCERIES, EGGS, VEGS, FOOD & HOTEL INDUSTRY SUPPLIER my bill was a lot more than what i offered, but to me the hospitality shown by pak chik Karim couldn't be bought, it has to be shared, we live in the cities and the people in the kampungs have bigger hearts, than the sharks you find in kl...all races. we have basically forgotten the roots of this country, the bureau tata negara propoganda lessons to brainwash the malays to dislike the other races, the other races defend themselves, by being more competitive and agressive. where has beautiful MALAYSIA OF THE 70S AND 80S GONE, LEAVE IT TO THE POLITICIANS TO SCREW THING UP. if your battery is flat in MALAYSIA EVERYONE HELPS IRRESPECTIVE OF RACE, ACCIDANT .MALAYSIANS HAVE BIG HEARTS, POLITICIANS ARE POISONING OUR RAKYAT
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