As offices reopened after Aidilfitri, Haniff heard that the joint- venture company in Bukit Damansara he was working for was in trouble.And sure enough, the company where he had worked for the past five years laid him off.The father of three had to find something – anything – to support his family but no one was looking for a HR manager.
But there were people looking for Malaysians who were not fussy and did not mind working from 4am until noon, or in a hot, smelly environment, for about RM2,000 a month – as traders at the Petaling Jaya Old Town wet market.“As I have a family, I needed to do this because I have responsibilities.
But Anuar taught him and after a few weeks, he was able to man the stall and cut the meat according to a customer’s satisfaction. As president of the PJ Old Town Wet Market Traders’ Association, Anuar has seen too many Malaysians come asking for a job, only to leave after a few days’ work.“But Malaysians don’t like this type of work,” he said.“When I entered the market sector, I have a desire to open my own business.But in an interesting turn of events, hours after Haniff was interviewed by Bernama, he tendered his resignation, saying that he had got a job offer.