PETALING JAYA, April 28 — After claiming he was thrown out of his quarters in Kuala Lumpur by his employer, Facebook user Matnoe Poksu Din was put in a tough situation.
Left with nowhere to turn to and with his funds for food slowly depleting, Matnoe decided to go back to his home in Kelantan to be with his family.
The only problem was that there are no interstate bus tickets available for purchase -- so he decided to walk.
Uploaded onto his Facebook page on Sunday, Matnoe shared a screenshot of the route he would have to take from Kuala Lumpur to his hometown of Tanah Merah, an approximate 428 kilometres away.
“Four days to go. Anyone interested in joining me, please do. We can walk there together,” wrote Matnoe.
And he kept uploading posts onto his Facebook page as well, updating social media users of his movements and progress.
Amazingly, Matnoe managed to get as far as Gopeng, Perak on the very same day but had to briefly stop his trek because of the torrential seasonal storms.
With the rains hindering his travel, Matnoe spent the night at the Rural Transformation Centre in Gopeng, riding out the storm.
Bright and early on Monday morning, he carried on with his journey but was soon left fatigued as he said that his legs were starting to tire.
If the volatile Malaysian weather wasn’t enough to break his spirits, his shoe sole almost did just outside of Ipoh.
Matnoe then made another stop at the Amanjaya Bus Terminal in Ipoh, getting some much-needed respite from the heat and to charge his handphone.
“I keep stopping because I’m too tired. I’m at Amanjaya now. There’s no battery left on my phone, there’s only seven per cent left. I need to sleep. Sorry if I don’t reply to any messages,” said Matnoe.
His phone was one of the few things keeping him company during the journey, as he would also hold live streams on his page to get some human interaction while resting at each of his stops.
After resting up, Matnoe continued on with his walk and made a pit stop in Gerik, Perak, as he started feeling weaker due to the fact that he hadn’t eaten a proper meal since he started his journey.
“I haven’t had rice or a full meal in two days now. I can’t walk at night because I can’t see. So my plan is to eat a little bit first and then continue,” said Matnoe.
“And to those of you asking for my bank account number to send me some money, it’s not necessary. I still have enough money with me for the next couple of days.”
Many social media users began to worry about Matnoe, as they followed his progression on Facebook but were soon relieved of their worries as a kind lorry driver explained in the comments section that he will be giving Matnoe a lift to Kelantan.
Late last night, his journey finally came to an end, as Matnoe uploaded one of his final posts saying that he has reached home, thanking everyone for their prayers and well-wishes.
“Thank God. At 11pm last night I safely arrived home. Thank you to everyone who prayed and offered me help,” said Matnoe.
This morning he added that he was on his way to the hospital to get screened for the Covid-19 virus but reassured social media users that he wouldn’t be walking this time around.
Impressed by his determination, many social media users have reacted to Matnoe’s posts calling him “resilient.”
“Thank God you’ve reached safely. I couldn’t believe that you walked so much. You really do have a strong will,” wrote one user.
While another user jokingly said that Matnoe would get a hefty fee if he auctioned off his “rare” and trusted shoes that made the journey with him.
