“I am known as the ‘Dancing Lawyer’, because despite having achieved my dream to study, graduate, and become a lawyer – I eventually had the realisation that my real talent lies in the performing arts, doing acting and voice-overs. But when the time came for me to quit my job as a lawyer and pursue this full-time, my parents could not accept it. My dad cut me off and stopped communicating with me for the next 3 years, and they have never gone to any of my shows in the last 10 years.

I was a practising lawyer at a law firm, handling corporate matters and doing litigation work for 6 years, until I realised that something was missing because all this while I had my interest in singing.

Despite feeling afraid, I took singing classes for fun, joined a hip-hop dance class at a gym, and formed a dance group at the gym to promote fitness, before finally ended up on the first season of “So You Think You Can Dance?” competition.

On the second season, I surprisingly passed the auditions and made it to the Top 50 and was sent to a boot camp. This is how I got my name as the Dancing Lawyer, as I was still working as a lawyer at that time.

A TV station interviewed me, and a friend of mine sent me an email about a talent audition that required some acting, singing and dancing skills.

He challenged me, I went for it, and when the doors opened, somebody shouted: “Hey I know you!”. It was Pat Ibrahim, a judge from ‘So You Think You Can Dance’.

He recognised me from the programme and it turns out that it was an audition for ‘Putri Gunung Ledang’. I panicked because I saw their amazing show last year at Istana Budaya. And I got the part!

So I needed to make a decision on whether or not I should quit my job, as the rehearsals are full-time and I didn’t think I could commit.

At first, I asked for a 3-month leave from my boss, only to be refused as there were a lot of cases to handle.

So I immediately resigned, because I was really tired of working as a lawyer and all #ThatCorporateLife. I felt tired and needed a break. I told myself – ‘I am doing this musical theatre as a short break, maybe for 3 months and then go back to being a lawyer’.

I followed my instinct without even thinking of the salary.

My dad did not know about my resignation yet at that time. I was 29 and they didn’t know I had quit, as I told them I was taking a break – and even then they weren’t too happy about it.

Then one day he found out when they came across a newspaper article about me acting in ‘Puteri Gunung Ledang’.

I told the reporter from The Sun to not disclose the fact that I had quit my job and instead just mention that I was on a break because my parents didn’t know.

But that was when, during rehearsals, my story got published on the front page, with the title “Lawyer Ceases Practice To Do Musical”, with a picture and a whole page that featured just me.

That was how my dad found out – and he didn’t speak to me for the next 3 years. I was met with silent treatment at home.

Whenever I called him on the phone, he wouldn’t pick up and instead pass it over to someone else to answer. It wasn’t a big emotional fight – he just cut me off, as I wasn’t staying with my parents anyways.

But everytime when I go back to the kampung, my mom still hopes till today that I will go back to my day job at the office.

So right after I starred in Puteri Gunung Ledang, I went for another audition at Istana Budaya and before you know it, I was working with Fauziah Nawi who trained me, and performed in numerous shows, such as ‘Mahsuri’, ‘Cuci The Musical’, ‘Lat The Kampung Boy’ and ‘MUD: The Story Of Kuala Lumpur’ before moving on to ‘OlaBola’ Season 1 and 2.

My advice to others is to follow your instinct, for we have a very good natural instinct for what we want to do. Trust your instinct and take the risk.

It has been 10 years since I quit my job as a lawyer, but I do miss practising law from time to time, especially when my lawyer friends advise me to find a way to do both.

Right now, I am thinking of renewing my legal practitioner’s license, but with the intention to focus on media and entertainment law. Despite so, my love is, and always be in the performing arts.

And I can see there are more opportunities and growth in this industry – such as producing, directing, and advising up-and-coming actors and actresses.

Dad, if you ever read this post, I really hope that you would understand. You have never come to watch any of my shows for the last 10 years. You know that this is my passion, you were a musician before this (and worked as a government servant). So you know where my talent comes from.

I hope you are willing to accept me for who I am and be proud of what I am doing. Whatever it is, deep in my heart, I do love you and mom so much and I am willing to do anything for both of you and make everyone happy.

I just hope that whatever I am doing after this will bring you happiness and that you don’t have to worry about me. I can take care of myself and everything is fine”.

– Humans of Kuala Lumpur

Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa
Editorial assistance by Aiman Mustafa
Edited by Sydrah Mustaffa

– Zukhairi Ahmad recently performed in The Working Dead, a comedy-musical theatre about working hard, and working till death literally tears you apart! He plays a raging workaholic at the office, who makes the ultimate sacrifice for his family. Check out the page for future shows!

 

“My mother passed away due to diarrhoea in 2014. She probably ate unhygienic food and we didn’t suspect anything. I mean, who dies from food poisoning in the 21st century? She was sick for just 1 day. And it shocked me, that she passed away after just 1 day.

My last words with her were when I took her to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), when the nurse didn’t let me go with her when they were pushing her to the ICU lift.

She looked at me …. In a certain way, and stared – and I felt like she knew this was going to be our last moment together. And true enough, she didn’t make it out alive from the surgery.

She had severe diarrhoea and from there she had septic shock, and all her internal organs shut down and had a heart attack.

She passed away on April 14 – which is the Bengali New Years Day. It is always the biggest day for us as a family and for Bangladesh, where I am from.

She had told us for tomorrow morning, if you don’t wake up early for the day’s activities, she would have just left on her own. And she did.

Now on this day, we all feel only sadness. Even my dad met and fell in love with her on the same day, and this day really bothers us.

She had gotten New Year’s clothes, and bought nothing for herself. We just felt like, maybe she just knew.

And now I live with lots of regrets that will be with me all my life. If I had known more about the diarrhoea or sent her to the hospital much earlier…

I regret not spending more time with her, like when she’s cooking, she would expect me to stand and talk to her and wants to talk to me a lot, and I would sometimes feel annoyed – now I wish I had spent time with her.

There was this one time I got accepted into a university in the States, but she told me she wanted me to study in Bangladesh instead, and I did not like her decision. But looking back, it was a chance for me to spend more time with her before she passed away.

And if I was given 30 seconds to make a phone call to her, I would tell her, that I love her and miss her. And I hope that she is well up there, and that I will keep doing good things to make her proud, that I am taking care of myself and my sister, and that she doesn’t have to worry about us.

I just want to listen to her voice, her complaints, her nagging – it’s not easy for me to say I love you and I did not say it enough.

When the nurse invited us to go to the ICU room to see her one last time, we saw her body.

In Islam, there’s probably a saying that you shouldn’t cry when someone has died, that we shouldn’t cry in front of her dead body. So we did not shed a single tear until we got home. Once we reached home, we both started crying uncontrollably.

I could not expect that someone could die from diarrhoea; It wasn’t even a big disease, and she was just fine the day before.

I could not forgive myself. I did research and found out that 45,000 people in Bangladesh, where I am from, die from diarrhoea every year.

And diarrhoea is the leading cause of death for children under 5 years of age – and 2.5 billion people don’t have access to proper sanitation.

I realized it’s not just us who are facing this – it is a global problem.

Then I thought I needed to do something about this – my family told me to stay and just grieve for my feelings, but I wanted to take action and help others, in case other people might lose their own moms, too.

And that’s where four days after her death, I conducted a Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Campaign at an excluded community (the untouchables) of 3000 sewerage workers. I felt that I need to reach out to them and that society doesn’t value and appreciate them.

I became a WASH activist, where I teach people the importance of drinking clean water, maintaining basic hygiene, showering, keeping your nails short, menstrual hygiene, how to properly filter water at home, how to wash your hands properly (using the 7-steps technique) – things which many people didn’t know.

And in the past 7 years, I have reached out to 70,000 people, and now run my own organization called Awareness 360 in 23 countries, where I work with school children, slum dwellers, and sex workers – marginalized communities who do not know of this issue.

Right now in Malaysia, I notice that the Orang Asli community could use some help with the WASH education, which is why I will be going to Sabah and Sarawak to give a WASH talk.

To all Malaysians, do join our initiatives.

And most of all, value your parents when they are still alive, and for the youth, give back to the community now, not only when something tragic happened to you.

Find your passion in something that bothers you. We connect passion with a positive feeling – like music. But you can also find passion in something negative, and something you wish did not happen, and which bothers you. Each young person has all the potential to change the world for the better, only if they start bit by bit”.

– Humans of Kuala Lumpur

If you would like to help or support Preva, please check out their Facebook page Awareness 360.

Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa

 

I came to Malaysia to run away from my family because they caused me too much pain. I had a struggling relationship with my father. He persuaded me to come here to further my studies since it’s quite a popular destination for those from the Middle East. But my goal was to get my ultimate freedom. I thought that if I changed my location, I would be a different person. But I wasn’t in good company. I smoked, drank, partied every weekend, and became selfish. I was trying to fit in since my own parents couldn’t accept me. I thought that was cool even though I didn’t like the lifestyle. I had no dream at all, and my goal at that time was to only study, make money, die and that’s it.

It all went on until one day when I woke up, looked in the mirror and I couldn’t recognise myself anymore.

The war (Arab Spring) started in my home country Syria in 2011, which pushed many Syrian families to move to Turkey as refugees. I decided to go to Turkey to volunteer as I thought that if I help someone else, I could help myself too. I witnessed the horrific situation at the Turkish-Syrian border and it was terrible. Upon my return to Malaysia after staying there for several months, my appearance changed. I had grown my long beard, which made me look like a religious person. It was because having spent time with a lot of the good people, I felt the need to look like them.

One day during the Ramadhan month, I saw on Facebook that a group of students was doing fundraising work by cooking meals and selling them to the public. I volunteered with them and we visited an Iraqi single mother. There was no sight of food inside the house even though it was Ramadhan. Then it hit me. It reminded me of how good my life is because I always have food on the table despite the strained relationship I had with my father.

From that day onwards, I started to visit and help more refugees and homeless people. 3 years later in 2016, I founded Give and Go, a social enterprise that aims to inspire others in the act of giving and reaching out to all refugees in Malaysia. We believe that everybody deserves to be helped, regardless of his or her background.

We also help the homeless and orphans, but our primary focus is still the refugees. We give them necessities such as towels, combs, and stationery sets. We even hosted the ‘Refugees Got Talent’ competition because we believe that refugees are talented, too. Many of them can sing, dance and play the guitar well. Our goal for that program was to make sure they have fun because many of them have mental health issues and psychological problems resulting from their traumatic experiences. But they are afraid to ask for help. When you reach out to them and want to provide counselling, they will never come, and it’s just not easy.

The refugees in Malaysia struggle a lot. Nobody likes to be called a refugee because it makes one feel vulnerable, to keep asking for help. Most refugees coming to Malaysia don’t speak the local language and couldn’t understand the culture. No one teaches them the dos and don’ts over here. It’s always good to have the proper guidelines available because they have never lived in a foreign country before.

Sometimes, it takes a long time for them to finally be resettled by the United Nations office to another country. I hope that the refugees will one day be recognised by the Malaysian government so that they can work, study, and get affordable treatment at the hospital. I have friends who have been here for almost 8 years now. Can you imagine a kid being here for that long and not being able to learn at school? Some of these refugees have come to me and told me that what they need is a proper job so they can have a steady income, and not donations.

I wish that one day there won’t be any refugee anymore and that the word ‘refugee’ will be removed from the dictionary. I hope that they will finally get to return because home is where you’re at your happiest. The one thing we won’t forget about Malaysia is that you guys opened the door for us while the Gulf countries and the rest of the Middle East closed theirs.

I haven’t seen my own family for 7 years now, so it does get lonely for me. But with Give & Go, I have my brothers and sisters here, and the people who love to be around me. By helping people, I feel like God is helping me, too. I want to let my family know that I miss them and that I’m sorry for all the things I have done in the past. I’m doing my best to be the best person I can be. And maybe one day I can build a great family of my own.

– Humans of Kuala Lumpur

We will be publishing our Refugees Storytelling campaign soon. Keep an eye out on our page!

Photostory by Samantha Siow and Mushamir Mustafa
Edited by Sydrah Mustaffa

 

“A stroke is a brain attack. You end up with shells of the people you used to know, and it’s frustrating to communicate with them. For caregivers, they might shout and say unkind things to their loved ones.

Both my late mother and husband had a stroke. With stroke survivors, you have to be tough with them. They might say no to rehab, or no to exercising, but you need to be the driving force if you want to see them get out of their wheelchairs.

Families are important in the recovery process, which varies for everyone – it might take 6 months, one year, three years, or even five years. It doesn’t matter. It’s the small wins that count. At the end of the day, it’s rewarding to see someone who arrives at NASAM in a wheelchair, to be able to walk.

NASAM or National Stroke Association of Malaysia is an organisation that helps stroke survivors rehabilitate. We have 9 centres across Malaysia and have people as young as 15 up to those who are over 80 years old.

What makes NASAM so different is that we try to have fun at the centre. Aside from helping them exercise and relearn simple activities, we have music, dance and even organised the world’s first Stroke Games in 2017!”

Photostory by Yasmin Mortaza
Edited by Sydrah M. and Mushamir M.

In the next few photostories, we’ll be featuring Stroke patients and the cast for a theatre play called “Transitions”, a story about a radio station founder who suffers an unexpected stroke after celebrating her radio’s 10th anniversary.

Transitions is sponsored by Yayasan Sime Darby and supported by the National Stroke Association of Malaysia – NASAM

“To count by the month of fasting, we have been doing this family business (selling fried mee at the bazaar) for 15 years already.”

“To count by the month of fasting, we have been doing this family business (selling fried mee at the bazaar) for 15 years already.

We also have our own permanent job at the night market but we are selling tofu instead.

Hari Raya is coming and I will celebrate it with all of my family members here in KL.

We do not go by different theme colour every year but instead, we have our own name theme and for this year it is Mee Goreng Power!

But actually, this name is already famous in Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman where we used to be.

My advice to everyone during Raya is please do not waste food, buy at an appropriate amount only and let’s be jolly! Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!”

– Humans of Kuala Lumpur

Photostory by Alexandrea Malinjang and Sue Jiun
Edited by Sydrah M.

 

“It all started as a dare. I was watching a show called “Comedy Kao Kao’, hosted by Dr Jason Say Keong Leong at The Bee, Publika. One of my friends told me to give stand-up comedy a shot, and even though I didn’t put much thought into it, I got myself a slot for my first stand-up in the next show.

I finally came to a realisation that doing stand-up comedy not just merely for fun or a one-off thing, but more of something that I truly enjoy. Ever since then, I started performing at more and more gigs, until I eventually got paid for doing it.

I’m Sulaiman Azmil. I’ve been working as a lawyer for about 25 years by now. And my message to everyone out there: Pursue your passion, but be realistic about your financial viability at the same time.”

– Humans of Kuala Lumpur

Photostory by Sue Jiun Yap
Edited by Sydrah M. and Mushamir M.

 

“This is only our second year of trying to sell char kuey teow (stir-fried rice cake strips) and tauhu sumbat (stuffed tofu) at this Bazaar Ramadan. So far, business has been good and I plan to continue this every year.

What excites me the most about Hari Raya is actually working at this Bazaar Ramadan because this is where I earn my extra income.

And going back to my hometown in Pahang, where I get to visit all my relatives and neighbours. I also get to make tauhu sumbat for everyone to try out and eat.

If you were to ask me what my life motto really is, I would say it is to live better than today in terms of earning income, attaining stability in life and taking other opportunities – something that is permanent – because right now, this is only temporary for I am still focused on my full-time job.

Should a better opportunity comes in my way, I would like to turn this into a primary source of income. That is my wish for now.”

– Humans of Kuala Lumpur

Photostory by: Alexandrea Malinjang and Sue Jiun
Edited by Sydrah M.

“My name is Mr Chan and I am the boss at Chan & Chan Marketing. I am a boss who is very concerned about my employees, concerned that they work for me well and earn me big bucks. My employees need to work more. What else do you expect from employees? My ambition is to be rich, richer, and the richest.

These are my rules if you want to work at my company:

1. Work will set you free.
2. If you’ve finished your work, then obviously you haven’t enough to do.
3. Work overrules everything.
4. The boss is always right”.

– Humans of Kuala Lumpur

– ‘Mr Chan’ is acting as the megalomaniacal boss in the Working Dead comedy-musical theatre, a play about working hard, and working till death literally tears you apart!

Tickets are selling fast, get yours by visiting http://proticket.com.my/klpac-the-working-dead/

Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa

 

“We do not plan to stop here. This business has been running for 5 years now since 2015. We are hoping to expand our business more globally, perhaps by opening a branch in Thailand and Indonesia.

I have a family here and Insya Allah (if God wills it), we will celebrate Hari Raya here in Kuala Lumpur this year. My message to all Malaysians is Selamat Hari Raya and we love Malaysia!”

“Be human. Don’t be the devil nor be the angel. Just be human. That is the one thing I want to share with everyone out there.”

“Be human. Don’t be the devil nor be the angel. Just be human. That is the one thing I want to share with everyone out there.

I have been doing this business since 1999, every Ramadan right here. Other than this, my job is at a night market in Uptown Danau Kota. I work there every single night.

Therefore, I am excited for Hari Raya to come and celebrate it with my beloved family in Negeri Sembilan. Actually, all of my families are here in KL but my grandparents live in Negeri Sembilan so we are coming over instead.

The older you get, the more bonding there is to be made.”