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What would you do if you lost your job, your health, and your vision, but your only concern was still someone else? For 37-year-old Nathan, a former police officer turned fruit seller, the answer is simple — fight on.
Every day from late afternoon until past midnight, he sits at a humble roadside stall in USJ 9 selling durians not for profit or ambition, but for love.
From police badge to selling fruits
Speaking to WeirdKaya in an exclusive interview, Nathan said he was a former Crime Branch Detective in the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM). But when 2014 rolled around, his life was turned upside down.
“My father passed away and my mother suffered a stroke not too long after his passing. With no one else to care for her, I made the difficult decision to resign from the force to be her full-time caregiver.
But to me, my mother is more important than everything else as holding a job is just to earn money.
Despite suffering a series of debilitating health setbacks throughout 2024, Nathan began selling durians, mangoes, and other seasonal fruits in May of this year to provide for himself and his mother.
The setbacks included a fall caused by low blood pressure which left him unable to work for nearly two months, two toes before amputated from his left foot, and his right foot having to undergo surgery after his condition deteriorated
Following the amputations, Nathan lost vision in his left eye and was later diagnosed with stomach cancer. Despite it all, he used his remaining RM200 to kickstart his fruit stall driven by the need to care for his mother.
A day-to-day grind
According to Nathan, his daily routine begins at 5pm and stretches late into the night when all of the fruits are completely sold out.
If the parking spots in front of the restaurant are taken, he patiently waits in his car until a spot is available for him to set up his stall.
Sometimes when I’m doing my business, my blood pressure will drop and I’ll feel very ill. But I still forge ahead for my mother’s sake.”
Nathan usually brings around 10 to 20kg of durians a day, along with mangoes, watermelons, and even petai when he’s able to. Some of his fruits, including the popular Lembaga Emas durian, has earned high praise from customers for its rich, creamy flavour.
He added that although he earns a meagre RM3 profit for every kilo of durian sold, he’s able to earn between RM100 and RM120 a day when business is brisk.
However, not all days are good ones and Nathan particularly remembers a heartbreaking moment where he once waited at his stall until 4am after a customer promised to show up, only to ghost him in the end.
Nothing but pure perseverance
With no other source of income except for his fruit business, Nathan and his mother have previously survived only on porridge for days to satiate their hunger.
Initially, his siblings did chip in financially but that support eventually faded away as they had their own struggles to contend with.
Thankfully, some of Nathan’s school friends stepped in to help buy groceries and aid him in getting back on his feet.
Despite his dire situation, Nathan refuses to ask for charity from the public and instead looks forward to them showing support for his small business.
Even though I’m making a very low profit, it’s enough for me as long as I can eat and save for my mother’s platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection.” he said.
If you’re near USJ 9, Nathan can be found daily in front of Warung Sambal Opah from 5pm until late night. Your support, even in small amounts, goes a long way—not just for him, but for the woman he calls his whole world.
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