PETALING JAYA, Feb 23 ― Food delivery riders get flak for their reckless behaviour on the road.

Facebook user Zairam Neezar however is keen to share that the few bad apples do not define delivery riders after a kind young man helped him out last Friday when he and his young daughter were stranded on a highway in Cyberjaya.

Zairam said in a post on Facebook that he is grateful to a delivery rider, called “Mat”, as the rider went out of his way to purchase refreshments for him and his child after seeing them stuck under the scorching highway heat.

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“Thank you for bringing food and drinks for my child after my car tyre punctured and we were stuck on the side of the road,” he said in the post.

“He said he didn’t know how to help me fix the tyre, so he would get us some refreshments instead because it was very hot. He didn’t even want to accept payment for the food and drinks.”

Zairam told Malay Mail in an interview that it was just a normal Friday for him at first before calamity struck.

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“I was on my way home after work and my Friday prayers, and I also went to pick up my daughter from kindergarten,” said the 34-year-old.

“We just passed the Petronas in Cyberjaya as we were turning out onto the highway and my daughter told me that she could hear something under my car.

“After she said that, I could feel that something was a little different and pulled over to the side and discovered that my tyre was punctured.”

Zairam, who works at Tenaga Nasional Berhad, then tried his best to fix the tyre, considering that he didn’t have a spare one at the time.

“The road was quite narrow because there is a lot of construction going on for the MRT line. So, I didn’t want my daughter to be seated in the car in case another vehicle hit my car when passing by,” he said.

“I took her out and we were sitting on the guardrail at the side of the road. I think that’s when Mat noticed us.”

He added that a metal shard, possibly from the construction site, had pierced his tyre.

Zairam said that Mat rode past them twice before approaching to help, after seeing that they were still stuck there the second time around.

“He was on his way to make a delivery when he first saw us. I think he noticed that there was a small girl (my daughter) sitting on the guardrails.

“Then when he was on the way back after the delivery run, we were still there so he came to offer help,” said Zairam.

“He offered to call a repairman for me, but I told him that I was already waiting for a friend to come pick us up. But he still wanted to help in some way, so he said he would buy us the refreshments at least.”

Zairam said that he hopes Malaysians won’t judge delivery riders so harshly after reading his post. ― Picture by Sayuti Zainudin
Zairam said that he hopes Malaysians won’t judge delivery riders so harshly after reading his post. ― Picture by Sayuti Zainudin

The father of three added that Mat came back just a few minutes later with two mineral water bottles, a juice box and some cookies as well.

“Before he left, I tried to pay him for the food and drinks but he kept refusing. He said that he just wanted to help me because he has a young child too,” said Zairam.

“All he asked for in return was for me to wish him and his family well.”

Zairam said that his friend reached their location not long after Mat left and took Zairam and his daughter home before he returned to replace his car tyre.

His post has since garnered over 1,000 likes on Facebook, with many social media users praising Mat for his kind gesture, with many labelling him a “modern-day hero”.