This article first appeared in Capital, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on May 16, 2022 - May 22, 2022
The past Hari Raya Aidilfitri holiday was one that I, like many Malaysians and people around the world, was very much looking forward to, as it would be the most relaxed holiday season since the pandemic, with opportunities to meet up with friends and go for house visits. At last, I thought, things would go back to normal, or as normal as it could be under the country’s transition to endemicity.
One of the plans I made was to spend a day by the pool with a couple of friends, to just swim, chat and relax in the open air. There was also a nearby restaurant serving fantastic fried chicken wings, among other things. It was to be a perfect day of relaxation with good food and good company.
What I did not expect was to be flashed by an uncle, who pulled down the back of his swimming briefs at the outdoor shower — which we all know is to allow anyone a quick wash-up before entering the pool — and showed me his bottom. Luckily, I was spared a frontal view as the man then stretched out — but not down — the elastic waistband of his briefs and gave his delicate bits a thorough rinsing.
To be honest — not that I’m not honest most of the time — I did not find this offensive. Rather, the scene tickled me. However, one friend pointed out that it wasn’t very civic-minded or, at the very least, not very considerate of him to display himself like that.
But the other friend who frequented the pool said the uncle, who appeared fine that day — though I noticed later that he used a cane to help him walk — had some mobility problems and likely found it hard to get to the shower rooms located downstairs. This reminded me that while we hope others are considerate of us and the community at large, sometimes, what we see on the surface and criticise or laugh at might be due to an unavoidable underlying problem or issue.
It’s like the surge of people at restaurants, hotels and other service outlets during the recent holidays, as Malaysians who have been under movement restrictions over the past two years revelled in finally being able to eat, shop and play outside their homes.
The sudden throng of customers, though to a certain extent expected, was hard for retailers and restaurateurs — who have had to let go of many workers during the past two years just to keep afloat — to cope with. And getting these workers back was nowhere as easy as letting them go, as most of the positions to be filled — such as waiters, bar tenders, cooks and other service staff — are jobs that not many locals are particularly excited to take up, though they are less averse to them compared to, say, similar blue-collar opportunities in the manufacturing and plantation sector.
Not forgetting also that many of those who could take up these positions have left for greener pastures, which, in the case of these workers, is as simple as traipsing across the Causeway where the pay is easily three times higher now, thanks to the much weaker ringgit.
Speaking of shortages, I read with fascination a column in a local paper on how panic buying during the eve of the festivities due to the unexpectedly early Hari Raya — which fell on May 2 instead of a day later — led to a santan shortage in some areas of the country, with housewives wrangling to get more as retailers tried to ration their stocks for customers who had queued up for the milky goodness.
A good amount of santan is indeed necessary, one of my swimming friends told me when I shared this, as many Hari Raya dishes would not be complete without it. As such, the shortage forced quite a number of households to settle for coconut milk that came in cartons, including those imported from Indonesia.
“And let me tell you, your lemang, your rendang, doesn’t taste the same with imported coconut milk,” she declared.
That reminded me that I had yet to have any rendang this Raya, I told her.
“Goodness, that’s no Raya. Come to my house tomorrow. I’ll fix you right up — and it’ll be made with fresh coconut milk too,” she responded.
And that was how one random incident during my holidays led to more random thoughts, and a delish rendang dish. Come to think of it, I truly enjoy holidays as relaxing as this, when I can spend the time musing and chit-chatting about anything that crosses my mind. Or sight.
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