PETALING JAYA, August 9 — After a hamstring injury ruined his career as a footballer, Twitter user Amirul Syafieq Muhd Isa Sham works 14 hours a day as a food delivery rider to save money for himself and his girlfriend.

Amirul uploaded a thread onto his Twitter account two days ago, asking for prayers and well wishes from his followers as he works hard every day for McDonald’s and Grab Food.

This is so he can earn as much money as he can so that he and his partner, Fatin Farzana, can get married next year.

 

As reported by Harian Metro, Amirul’s intention was to dedicate the uploaded thread to his girlfriend, in an attempt to put a smile on her face during his short break between rides.

But he never expected the thread to go viral, getting over 30,000 shares and 43,000 likes.

“It’s just a picture with a simple caption that I uploaded on my break. It was actually a dedication to my girlfriend to make her happy, but I never expected it to go viral,” said Amirul.

The 23-year-old Amirul, who lives in Puchong, works eight hours a day as a rider for McDonald’s, from 8am to 4pm, and an extra six hours as a rider for Grab Food, from 5pm to 11pm.

Previously, Amirul used to play football for KL City Hall and earned RM4,000 a month but was forced to sit on the sidelines after a hamstring injury ruled him out for a while last July.

Amirul back in his footballing days for DBKL. — Screengrab via Twitter/@syafieqisa
Amirul back in his footballing days for DBKL. — Screengrab via Twitter/@syafieqisa

“After I recovered from the injury, I did try my luck again and went for a tryout, but didn’t make the cut. Maybe because the coach did not want to take a risk on me.”

But because of his love for football, he did not give up, as he then took on a small job as a coach where he earns a meagre sum of RM50 per training session.

“The money I made as a coach was not fixed, so I was determined to find another way to make money, and finally I got accepted to be a rider in January, even though I had no previous experience.”

At first, Amirul was embarrassed by his fall from grace and was reluctant to be seen as a rider, especially if he came across people he knew.

He added that he even wore a facemask for a month to prevent himself from being recognised.

Despite his tribulations, Amirul soldiered on and eventually got used to his long days riding around delivering food, as many social media users were quick to praise him and his efforts.

Well wishes and comments of respect for Amirul from social media users. — Screengrab via Twitter/@syafieqisa
Well wishes and comments of respect for Amirul from social media users. — Screengrab via Twitter/@syafieqisa

One social media user said: “I hope you stay consistent. It isn’t easy but it gets easier if you’re consistent. God willing there will be no problems. Good things will always get results.”

While other users kept it simple with well-wishes for his safety on the road and prayers for his success because he pursued on “honest living with sincere intentions.”