KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 — “All people are the same.” This was the message from a kindhearted Grab driver Fadhli Sahar whose kind gesture been praised by social media users after he shared his experience of sending three Bangladeshi security guards home after their shift.
Fadhli, who now runs his own business, recently took to Facebook to share his meeting with three foreign workers when he was a Grab driver three years ago.
In the post, which has been share over 3,200 times, Fadhli said when he became a Grab driver, someone had told him to ignore ride requests from Bangladeshis as sometimes their body smell may linger in the car even after they have left.
Despite the person’s advice, Fadhli decided to stick to his morals.
One night when he was in Sunway area, he received a request for a significantly expensive ride at RM40.
“When I arrived at the pickup location, I saw three Bangladeshis waiting and waving at me,” he wrote.
“From their uniform, I presumed they were security guards.”
The guards then asked Fadhli if he could send them home.
“I told them 'yes' and all three of them got into my car,” he said.
On the way back, Fadhli said he had to hold his breath and had to change the air conditioning mode and lower down the window to recirculate the air because of the smell.
He said he didn’t get to talk to them much as two of them were asleep while the third one sitting in the middle of the back seat was keep looking at him.
“He knew that something was wrong when he saw me. At times, I covered my nose with my shirt, frequently lowered down the window and changed the air conditioning modes,” he said.
“When I took a quick look at him through the rear-view mirror, he looked away. I think he knew that I wasn’t comfortable with them.”
Sensing something may not be right, one of the men asked, “Are you okay, boss?”
Fadhli responded that he was okay, as he thought it would be rude to talk about their body odours.
“Although they are immigrant workers, they are still human,” he said.
The guard then told Fadhli that they had been rejected by three other drivers before he accepted their request.
Upon arrival at the drop off location, the man sitting in the middle handed Fadhli a RM100 note and refused to accept the change.
Fadhli said he was stunned as he normally would receive RM1 to RM2 as a tip and not RM50.
He said he insisted on returning the tip but the guard refused to take it back.
“It’s okay brother. You can keep it. I know you were not comfortable with us throughout the ride,” one of the guards said.
To conclude his post, Fadhli said the Bangladeshis taught him an important life lesson.
“Even if they are immigrants, they are still human. They have feelings, emotions and thoughts,” he said.
“Until now, I don’t understand why some drivers are choosy about their passengers based on their appearance. If it is your job, just get it done.”
