Swarmed

 Things have changed.

But it never changes when it's going back to the hometown. The weekend was a perfect getaway from the city to the town I grew up in. It's also time to see the parents again.

Muar is known to be idyllic; the pace is slow and dinner is over by 5 pm in most homes especially among the shopkeepers of the town. The supper stalls come into full business in the evenings for an early dinner will almost always be followed by late suppers. That's how I have been brought as a school girl. My father when he is up to something fishy like late mahjong sessions will end up buying full-fledged suppers to pacify my mother.

 This is also typical of a back yard in the town center. I grew up playing hop-scotch and all other fun games which definitely did not include anything with the media. This is considered clean and good enough for us kids. Sometimes such back alleys could be mounted with heaps of garbage and swarmed with flies. But we were tough children; not pampered and never knowing the better things in life.

 The pigeons and swallows will also swarm the seaside town and it's not surprising that Muar is home to bird nests. So, a lazy afternoon would also mean some neighbours setting up the mahjong table and the game goes on.

As I sat with my parents, I watched with interest the changing scenario of the town.

Maybe it was a public holiday.

But the town was like a mini Kuala Lumpur like along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.

I rarely saw the town swarmed; this time not with pigeons but people.

 I can vouch that the flow of human traffic was constant. Not a moment of quiet. Hundreds drowned the town. They were foreign workers in particular Nepalese and Bangladeshis. That of course brought me to ask : where are they working? It has been recent but the number is definitely increasing. Apparently the furniture and manufacturing factories mushrooming in the suburban areas have caused this phenomenon. This is not familiar to me. I am not sure if I like it as Muar is not so Muar anymore.To avoid the hassle, some shopkeepers call it a day at an early hour. Shops which did not cater to their needs found no reason to have their doors open.

 The people and heavy traffic clogged the town and believe it or not; Muar is busy !

The foreign  workers are here to earn for a living; sometimes I feel sorry for them. They travel thousands of miles across seas and oceans to make ends meet. I notice how some found pals among themselves and the friendship keep them strong and onward looking. I see it when I observe how they hug one another and using their mother tongue to communicate surely make them feel at home.

They are here to make the factories function in full force; business will be at a standstill if they are not here to help?

 Interestingly, the business scenario aslo changed to cater to the needs of the foreigners.

A few years ago, I used to notice one particular shop opposite my father's shop selling good that Nepalese love. Bags, accessories, clothes and so forth; including the MAS air stewardess attire ! They also love to buy blankets and luggage each time they go home to their motherland. So, quite cleverly the foreigners themselves start business along this need. The locals do not sell these items. So when the town is busy on weekends and public holidays, it is these proprietors that make the buck. Talk about business sense; they have it.

Of course, the next best business is the money exchange chains ! Perpetually full of people, this outlook sends money home for the workers. These hard workers send almost every cent home and hardly would spend anything lavish on themselves. All work and no play. Some have it harder in life.

 Food business is something worth mentioning. The workers jammed these outlets for home cooked food; home away from home. Apparently the Nepalese would visit the Nepalese ones while the Bangladeshis would visit food stalls of their motherland. I was busy visiting the back lanes and I came across these pretty maids cleaning and washing vegetables. They were fair and pretty and I thought they were Nepalese until the Bangladeshi boss told me otherwise. They are from Vietnam ! Now the Vietnamese are here too. So the employment pattern is also changing. It's a domino effect. I wonder at the changing pattern of my dear old town. Will it ever be the same again ?

 While the world of Muar seems to be changing; something commendable is also taking place to the neighbour next to my father's shop. Notice that lady? Humble, hardworking and persevering, she has a daughter who did the local pre u program (STPM) and today is continuing her studies in PHD in Universiti Malaya. Her daughter hopes to be a researcher in Chemistry. I saw the girl grow up from a baby till her university years. Nothing beats the values one pick up from observing their hardworking parents and are lessons they hold to do the right moves in life. This perhaps is success story; the story of how hardworking people will also find the chance in life. Every dog surely has its day.

Muar may be changing, my father has not. Shrewd, careful and wise, he says this all the time; a penny earned is a penny saved. I see him still wanting to save that one penny. It makes my spending habit shameful. Not that he lacks anything, he is just used to his habits. Old habits die hard, don't they? When in Rome, do what the Romans do; so I need to be less spendthrift in front of him. The two are great company for each other. May they continue to argue and get their points across and so evoke their mental alertness. Muar is where they belong and though the world around them seems to be changing; their love for the town remains steadfast.

God bless my father and mother.