A man in Puchong, Muhammad Affiruddin wanted nothing on his birthday but to give a pair of shoes to a street sweeper whom he called “uncle”.
According to NST, the 33-year-old cendol seller said that every time he saw “Uncle” sweeping the street while travelling to his cendol shop around Jalan Puchong Perdana, he always noticed how worn out his shoes were.
Lama dah perasan Uncle ni pkai kasut koyak/rosak teruk ni hari². Sempena Hari Lahir ak harini 20 June...Ak hadiahkan...
Posted by Affi Ariff on Saturday, June 19, 2021
“Once, I saw Uncle at a traffic light and saw how worn out his shoes were. I could actually see his toes! Before I could wind down my window to ask him about his shoes, the light turned green and I was forced to drive on,” he said.
For over three weeks, Affiruddin said he kept bumping into the Uncle while travelling to work but didn’t have the chance to stop to talk to him until Sunday (June 20th) where he happened to be on the same road and the Uncle was right in front of him!
He said that he immediately stopped his car and approached him.
“I asked if I could have a look at his shoes. His shoes had seen better days despite the Uncle’s valiant efforts to have them frequently repaired. There was no doubt that I had to get him a new pair of shoes, although I did not know his size. So I made an educated guess,” he added.
Affiruddin then went to the nearest shoe shop and bought a pair of shoes for Uncle.
Photo via Facebook (Affi Ariff)
“Thank God the new shoes fit. As he put on the shoes, I asked him a few questions, including about his working hours. The uncle told me that he was supposed to have gone back at that time, but he put off his trip home as he could see there was a lot of litter on the streets. His reply reflected his commitment to his job,” said Affiruddin.
He also advised Malaysians to always keep our surroundings clean, otherwise, cleaners like Uncle will have to work extra time (while wearing worn out shoes).
What a kind thing to do!
By: Aishah Akashah Ahadiat
