There are certain jobs that many often look down upon as it’s one that most would deem to be lowly or downright dirty.
For one young man in Melaka, he was constantly mocked by his peers over his parents’ occupation as garbage collectors but instead chose to turn those taunts into an inner drive for success.
Was mocked for being the son of ‘garbage workers’
Speaking to Harian Metro about his experience, 21-year-old Jeffry Jais Jamaludin said the mocking began during his primary school days.
Many told me that since my mum cleans garbage and my dad drives a garbage truck, I’ll never be successful in life.
“Although I paid little attention to them and grew accustomed to it, there were times where it would still hurt me. However, I never told my parents as I didn’t want to add to their worries,” he said.
Turned taunts into resilience
Instead of allowing the mean words to get to him and drag his down, Jeffry instead chose to prove his doubters wrong and threw himself wholly into his studies.
His hard work eventually paid off when he scored 9As for his SPM in 2019 and was offered a scholarship by the Majlis Amanah Raya (Mara) to study abroad.
Today, he’s now pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering at the renowned Université Toulouse 3-Paul Sabatier in France.
“Alhamdulillah, with my SPM results and the scholarship to study abroad, I managed to overcome the insults that were thrown at me back then.
“Even though I sometimes face academic challenges, the words of my parents make me resilient. I won’t easily give up because they have high hopes for me to complete my studies and change our family’s fate,” he said.
Parents proud of son’s achievements
Jeffry’s mother, Aisah Iberahim, told the Malay daily that she and her husband were aware of the hurtful words which were said towards their son and were proud to see him excelling academically.
“For me, being able to educate my children through hard work is already a great blessing. Jeffry’s success in studying abroad is a special gift for our family,” she said.
Such an inspiring story! We wish Jeffry all the best in his studies and to continue holding his head high!
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