The Best Quote of Yesterday: “Tuhan Pandai Kesian Sama Kita”

There’s this one pondan working at the saloon nearby. This pondan is 20 years old and he’s quite good looking even if he chooses to stay a normal guy. He doesn’t groom or dress up that much like a woman unlike some other pondan but his “gender crises” is shown from the way he walks and talks. The fact that he’s a pondan, he’s not ashamed of it. He’s very open and I can see that he has learnt a great deal from life even at that age. He’s one among the Filipinos crowd in my area and he still has his accent and even his Malay is still quite rusty but good enough to communicate with the locals. He’s alone in Sabah and his family is still at the hometown.

Yesterday, he came to my place and had a chit chat. I asked him about his boss, his customers and others. He told me his job is not easy, especially when he has to deal with his boss who is always busy. The last 2 months were challenging for him because the boss didn’t show up and pay his salary. The next thing he learnt was the boss was undergoing treatment for an early detection of a serious disease. He said he never complained or trying to turn his back on his boss although it was tough when the boss did not call or SMS him during the 2 months. He never missed one day from operating the saloon. He opens everyday, no off day and he comes early and comes back late. Any hairstylist won’t want to do that for the boss. Any hairstylist would want to move out and look for a new job at a different saloon especially when the pay is very low and not even the standard pay for a hairstylist. I asked him if he doesn’t want to look for another saloon that can offer him better pay. He told me, “I won’t do that. I pity my boss. She needs me.”

“Kalau sikit susah sudah mau pindah tempat kerja sampai bila pun tidak akan berhenti. Nanti rezeki pun tidak pandai tetap sebab akan ikut mcm kita juga yang tidak tetap pendirian. Kita kena sabar, kena ikhlas kalau bekerja dan jujur walaupun tidak dihargai dan tiada org puji. Aku pasti Tuhan Pandai Kesian Sama Kita juga. Kalau kita susah sekarang pasti dia akan beri rezeki juga dengan kita kalau kita tidak putus asa.”

As he was saying that, I was a bit startled. I could not believe that he could say all that which actually knocked some senses into me too. I really like the part when he said “Tuhan Pandai Kesian Sama Kita”, which I think is a very powerful line for those who feel like they come to the end of their battle. It happens all the time. They think that when life is treating them unfairly, it’s time to call it a quit. He’s right about another thing. When you quit a battle, you’ll move into another and another battle. Life is always about battles. It’s ongoing as long as you’re still alive. If you avoid one battle, it’s still a new battle that you step into. So don’t think by quitting something, you’ll not gonna deal with a new battle. If you keep quitting, when will it end? The challenge is to tackle this battle in hand before you move to another and another and NEVER BE A QUITTER. God will give mercy to those who don’t give up. I believe in that :)