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On Sunday, 20 June, a cendol hawker in Puchong, Selangor shared his story of gifting a pair of shoes to a street cleaner
According to Muhammad Affiruddin Mat Ariff, in conjunction with his birthday that day, he had intended to give a gift to the cleaner, whom he refers to as ‘Uncle’, because he was not happy to see him wearing damaged shoes while working.
Affiruddin said he often saw the man while on his way to work at Taman Puchong Permai.
“The distance between my house to my workplace is about 5km and passes through Jalan Puchong Perdana, which is Uncle’s route, where he often sweeps,” he told SAYS.
Image via Affi Ariff (Facebook)
Affiruddin once saw the man at a traffic light and noticed that his shoes were badly torn to the point his toes were visible
“Before I could wind down the window to greet him, the traffic light turned green so I had to continue my journey,” he told SAYS.
Affiruddin said he often saw the man for the past three weeks but circumstances did not allow him to stop and greet until Sunday.
“Coincidentally, I was driving through the same road on Sunday and he was right in front of me, so I stopped the car to talk to him,” he said.
Image via Affi Ariff (Facebook)
Affiruddin asked for the sweeper’s permission to look at his shoes and realised that they were badly torn
“There were traces of stitches as if they have been sewn many times and it looked like it can’t be repaired anymore,” he said.
Affiruddin decided it was time to buy the man a new pair of shoes but realised that he does not know his own shoe size.
“I roughly guessed his size and went to purchase the shoes. Alhamdullilah, the shoes fit him,” Affiruddin said.
Image via Affi Ariff (Facebook)
The kind man said he hoped that Malaysians would take more care of public areas so that public servants like Uncle do not have to work overtime wearing torn shoes
“People like Uncle, working as a cleaner, need to be given attention because they keep the community clean. It’s not something that is easy and shouldn’t be underestimated,” he continued.
“We can make their work easier with one simple condition, don’t throw garbage everywhere,” Affiruddin told SAYS.
Image via Affi Ariff (Facebook)
Netizens flooded the comment section with praises for Affiruddin’s heartwarming gesture
“Alhamdulillah. Your heart is so noble, bro… Those eyes are so sharp, sensitive to his condition. May it be a reason for lasting rewards. Amen,” a user wrote.
Image via Affi Ariff (Facebook)
Another user commented, “This has gone viral… Simple random act of kindness… Thank you and may this be an encouragement for all of us to be more caring.”
Image via Affi Ariff (Facebook)
One netizen said, “It’s not the value of how much the shoes cost… but how many people are moved to do this… Insha’Allah… Today is the uncle’s day… the Lord bought these shoes… Only God knows… May you have a good fortune.”
Image via Affi Ariff (Facebook)