Malaysian man cooks rice in office in order to save money for his family

We might like to joke about being poor to the point of 'eating grass', but few of us have actually been driven to the point of having to cook rice in our office for the sake of saving money.

However, in a Facebook post uploaded on Monday (Oct 21), Azri Walter shared about how he found his employee huddled in the corner of their office doing just that.

The 39-year-old had returned to the office that day when he stumbled upon the unusual sight. Though the lights were switched on, there was no one to be found in the vicinity. A rustling noise alerted him to a presence under a table where he found his employee, Habil.

Upon being discovered by Azri, Habil immediately stood up, looking rather frightened. The latter had been cooking as he had yet to eat, puzzling Azri greatly as Habil had just earned over RM1,000 (S$375) that week and could have easily bought food from a shop beneath their office.

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Scratching his head, Habil explained he had given every cent to his mother. Though she had not asked that of him, he wanted to do so anyway so his mother could have enough money to buy clothes, food and whatever necessities she and his siblings needed.

It turns out that Habil's father had passed away a few years ago and, in a bid to make ends meet, Habil left his home in Pahang at the tender age of 19 to feed his family.

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"It's nothing, sir. I don't know for how long will mother still be around. While she's here, I want her to be happy. After all, I have no other commitments and I'm good at making money," Habil said.

After hearing his story, Azri immediately pulled Habil into a hug before taking him out for a meal.

In an interview with Harian Metro, Azri explained that he had shared Habil's story with the intention of reminding others to be filial.

The post has since gotten over 12,000 shares at the time of writing. With the post making its rounds, Habil said that he is extremely humbled by netizens' responses and thanked them for their encouragement.

rainercheung@asiaone.com