I had an unfortunate encounter last week in this locally franchised chicken rice outlet, which was run by an assortment of Banglas and Nepalese. I should have known that I was in for a really challenging time if I patronize that joint, but the situation didn’t permit me much choice, so I gave it a try anyway. I was with Regine and Emily, and after I’ve placed my order with one of the locals, Regine started to hit her high notes and I had to get her something to calm her down.

Plastic fork and spoon - they work all the time for my daughter (it escapes me why). So I flagged one of the waiters over. Tenzing the Nepalese attended to me and gave me this emotionless gawk. I then requested politely in English - “Can you please get me a plastic fork and spoon for the kid there?”

He went on gawking, but with a change of expression of a freaking out look. I could tell that he didn’t get a shit I said, so I switched to BeeEm - “Boleh bagi sudu dan fork plastik?” (I’m sure I didn’t say it quite correctly but, it was at least something 80% BeeEm).

He reservedly nodded for a couple of times and went off. It finally made sense to him, I thought, but I was wrong. Tenzing didn’t get it. Apparently, he went off to summon his Bangladeshi colleague - whom I would refer as ‘Jahangir’ - to check me out instead. Tenzing then bolted off to somewhere, his burden now transfered to Jahangir, who came to my aid with the same stupid gawk, with an addition of faked anticipation. So I had to repeat my request all over again, in English, with some emphasis of sign language - that I would like to have a plastic fork and spoon for my soon-to-go postal madcap daughter.

Like Tenzing, he nodded and disappeared, nowhere to be seen again. I was made to wait for the plastic utensils that never came, until my patience wears thin and eventually, got one of the shirking locals to get it for me.

The whole episode kinda left me perplexed (like who wouldn’t?) - if those foreign workers do not speak or understand the common spoken languages in our country, then why did they attend to me in the first place? Were they buying the odds of miracle that I could probably speak Bangladeshi or Nepalese? And which moron in his right mind allowed these people to man the outlet as front runners? (somebody could have at least appointed someone who COULD SPEAK AND UNDERSTAND something)

The whole thing prompted me to think - are we Malaysians really that short of labors that we need to get so many Banglas and Nepalese to do our chores? Or is it that we’re too conceited or lazy to give a shit about these menial works? Whatever it is, if the trend keeps going on like this, I’d foresee a near future where we would need Banglas to bless our weddings at churches, remove our tumors at hospitals or even run the goddamn government - because we Malaysians are too fucking lazy to do anything at all (and they’re so cheap to hire anyway).

This is so fucked up and definitely has to change.