“During my university days, I had to ‘straight’ act, as what we call it…”

“I have this tendency to ‘melatah’, its like when you suddenly get surprised and you exclaim something in surprise. So for me I’d say something like ‘oh p@nt@t kau’.

People who ‘melatah’ are usually associated with women and soft manners. So a lot of times when I’d get surprised out of my ‘straight character’, my ‘sassiness’ will come out, as my lecturer said it. Pretending is really hard, which is why I say be who you are. Some people may not agree with you. You can’t control everyone around you but you can control your emotions and actions towards those who are negative about you. So be around people who are positive and accept who you are. I am full of sassiness, there’s no way people can stop me from being sassy. I’m sassy and I know it”. 

– Humans of Kuala Lumpur

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(This post was first published on August 25th 2016)

“This is like my nighttime ride. I use the hoverboard in my home and around the mall…”

(Mike, founder of Mikey’s Pizza speaking) “Probably the first guy to walk around the house with a hoverboard too. I mean I even go on escalators with this thing. It’s easy for me to ‘think’ when I’m on it. Sometimes I just pace up and down my house, thinking, on this hoverboard. But basically it’s just easy for me to visit my shops and go through the mall. I get a lot of people looking at me, especially kids. Kids love it. And I have stairs to my house, and I want to build a ramp so I don’t have to walk you know what I mean? It just makes it very easy for me to come visit the shop from my office.

“Then how do you keep fit when you’re not even walking? 

“I workout everyday… I do a small workout, like a 110-150 BPM HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workout in the morning everyday. And yes, I use the hoverboard to go to the gym”. 

– Humans of Kuala Lumpur

Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa

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(This post was first published on August 25th 2016)

“I come from Manhattan, and have been living for 7 years in Malaysia…”

“I came here originally as a consultant and my job was to study the Malaysian economy. I informed foreign investors on why Malaysia is a good place to invest, and then I saw the investment opportunities myself. So I opened up Mikey’s Pizza. Yes, I’m Mike! Now I have a Malaysian wife so I am here for a while. I can speak ‘sikit sikit’ Bahasa.”

“Has anyone ever told you you look like Captain America (Chris Evans)?”

“Once or twice people would tell me I look like Captain America (Chris Evans). But I mostly get Bradley Cooper”. 

– Humans of Kuala Lumpur

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(This post was first published on August 24th 2016)

“Today I got Poliwag (the Pokemon), but I’m actually looking for Pikachu…”

“My strongest Pokemon thus far is Scyther. I’m on the way to work now and whenever we stop at a train station, it’s a Pokestop so all us Pokemon players are catching many Pokemons. So far I’ve gotten three today. Funny story, last weekend I was supposed to meet up with my friends at the bar, so my friend and me parked really far away. We then walked the long way to the bar – so that we can catch Pokemons along the way. Everybody is capturing Pokemons when standing in the bus, driving in the car, and in the middle of the road. I just want to advise other Pokemon players to be aware of your surroundings – don’t put yourself in danger in the middle of the (traffic) jam! I’ve met many friends through playing Pokemon and that’s the best part about playing Pokemon – having interaction with other Pokemon players. This surrounding area has a lot of Pokemon and I’ve been talking to a lot of people!”

– Humans of Kuala Lumpur

Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa

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(This post was first published on August 24th 2016)

“What is your life like growing up here?”

“What are you asking for? Didn’t you hear how a five year old got butchered last week? There’s no future here. Everyone’s trying to run away, I have dreams that my children will become something in their life, and then they’ll get away from here. Not end up a wazaa (wedding chef) like me.”

The Kashmiri Conflict
Humans of Kuala Lumpur

Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa

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(This post was first published on August 15th 2016)

“I’ve been missing school for a month now…”

“I have my matrix (Indian Matriculation) coming up, and the tuition centers are all closed, so I’m studying by myself with the textbook. I can’t go to school because some days there is ‘hartal’ (stone pelting protests), some days there are curfews, some days there are a walking protests. My dream is to get 480 out of 500 marks. That’s hard to do without school.”

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

“I just want to work for apple. That way I’ll get all of their products for free.” 

(Kashmir, India-Pakistan border)

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(This post was first published on August 11th 2016)

“In Kashmir, you’re lucky if you can have a real wedding…”

“In my marriage, we had planned for a big tent, at least 500 guests, and typical ‘wazwan’ food. The situation turned sour, and we had to call it off, and invite the most immediate family members only. I remember the militants came in to check how much meat we had. They told the butcher “use only 25kg of meat”. Yes weddings still happen despite the situation here, but it takes something away from the atmosphere of celebration.”

(Kashmir, India-Pakistan border)

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(This post was first published on August 11th 2016)

“One of my friends actually went to work in Malaysia, but he got tricked…”

“He thought he was going to work as a tailor, that was his trade. Instead he was forced into some labour camp, and called us after six months. He said he was trapped, and just managed to escape. I think he’s working a job he’s happier with now.”

“That’s human trafficking.”

“Yeah…but would you be able to help me get a real job in Malaysia?”

(Kashmir, India-Pakistan border)

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(This post was first published on August 10th 2016)

“What was Kashmir like before the occupation?”

“Very good. Purely good. People could go out, they could walk around freely, they could be out late at night. There was no tension, no fear of what you were speaking about and who you were telling it to. There was no curfew. Now everyday somebody dies, somebody is blinded. You hear about it, and you pray that everyone you know is fine. Just yesterday the military broke the glass, the windows, ran after the small kids who pelted them with stones. They take them, they torture them. I worry for my son when he goes out late for his duties, I worry if they’ve taken him. I have four daughters at home, and all I can do is lock my windows to protect them. Poor people like us don’t have anyone we can go to for help. We can’t go to the police. We can’t leave the country.”

(Kashmir, India-Pakistan border)

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(This post was first published on August 10th 2016)