A food delivery rider was left hurt after overhearing a parent use his job as an example of the kind of work their child should avoid.
The incident came to light after the rider, identified as Muaz, told his younger sister about what happened while he was waiting for a food order at an outlet.
According to messages shared by his sister on Threads, Muaz was alone when he overheard a parent speaking to their child.
The parent reportedly encouraged the child to study hard and make their parents proud before pointing towards Muaz and telling the child not to “end up like him”.
The parent allegedly described food delivery as difficult work and referred to Muaz as a “kuli”, or labourer.
The remark reportedly caught Muaz off guard. Rather than feeling angry, he said he was hurt and questioned why someone would look down on a person simply because they were earning a living through delivery work.
“I felt like they were insulting the work I do to make money like this,” he told his sister, adding that he was unsure how to make sense of the comment.
His sister said she was saddened after reading his messages and subsequently shared the incident on Threads.
She urged people to think before judging others, pointing out that they could not know what someone had gone through or why they had chosen a particular line of work.
She also expressed hope that the person who made the remark would come across her post and understand how deeply their words had affected her brother.
The post subsequently attracted supportive comments from Malaysians, with many saying parents could encourage their children to study and pursue their goals without belittling someone else’s occupation.
One commenter noted that food delivery riders play an important role in people’s daily lives by bringing meals to those who may be too busy, tired or unable to leave home.
Another said they would teach their own children to respect people who work hard and earn an honest living.
For Muaz, the comment may have been made casually, but his messages to his sister showed that the words stayed with him long after he left the outlet.
