I'm Sorry

That one fine Sunday night in July this year, I walked my way from Masjid Jamek LRT station towards Puduraya bus station, a norm I’ve been doing for the past few months. Well, I’m a weekend husband/daddy who commutes from JB to PJ, then back to JB by express bus, almost every week. So that night, I headed to Puduraya once again, to hop on the coach, going back to JB.

A friend of mine has waited by the side of the double-decker bus, as we promised. I saw he was talking to an unknown guy, in his twenties. The look at that guy’s face transformed the hint saying that he was in trouble. My friend explained to me that that guy claimed he was in trouble and was trying to get some help.

The guy then told me his pouch got stolen. He lost all his money, bus ticket and mobile phone. He was visiting a friend at a university in KL, and was on the way back to Kuantan that night. He then said that he has lodged a police report about the theft.

I assumed he is one poor college or university student, with an unfortunate luck, wandering around at Puduraya, at almost 11pm at night, alone.

He asked me whether I can help him with some money to buy a bus ticket so that he can go back to Kuantan. Roughly RM25 was needed for the bus ticket, quite a small amount of money for some people I guess (not really for me at my current state of affair though). Unfortunately, I was not carrying much cash in hand, so I handed him RM10, with a little bit of guilt for not being able to help him as much as he needed.

I even said sorry to him.

And I then departed the bus, get a little bit of sleep, and by 3am I was already in JB. Life turned back to a normal week, once again. Just like any other weeks of a salary man.

Last night, the same friend of mine who was waiting for his bus at Puduraya, sms-ed me saying that he saw the same guy, doing the same thing – asking help (money) from other people.

Now I know, that guy lied to me. He pretended like having a problem, and faked every single story, for the sake of getting easy money from other people.

Yes I was angry as I read the sms from my friend about it.

No, I was not angry for losing RM10 to a loser like him.

And I won’t beat him to death if I happen to see him again. I can’t even recognize his face at the first place. I’m not that good at remembering names or faces.

But I’m angry because, it has created a stereotype thinking inside me to say that,

“Nik, never ever help any strangers who came to you out of nowhere and ask for money, for whatever reason or trouble they may have, and for whatever bad luck that they may have. Just don’t be bothered with them and just leave them alone with their problems”.

Now, that sounded very wrong, right?

And I assume some of you may have heard the same thing, where some people pretended having an accident, or having mugged, or just being snatched, and came to us to ask for a little favor or help.

Even worst, not only money that they are looking for. It may even be a decoy to kidnap us. And for ladies, they may be kidnapped, raped, and God forbid – get killed!

It’s getting difficult for us to tell which is genuine, and which is fake.

What’s really happening to our society today huh?

As much as I don’t like to judge or label other human being, I also don’t like to be cheated, repeatedly.

I will definitely think twice, or get more information and proof from any poor fella asking for my help, before I even start to consider helping them.

Or else, I’ll just say, ”I’m sorry”.