A Malaysian intern has sparked discussion online after revealing that a friend she carpools with only contributes RM10 a week for petrol, despite them travelling about 48km daily for internship.
In a post that has since drawn plenty of attention, the woman said she and her friend commute five days a week, with the total distance adding up to 48km a day.
She then asked netizens whether it was reasonable for her friend to only pay RM10 per week for fuel.
In a pinned follow-up comment, the woman clarified that it was not that she never wanted to ask for more, but that her friend would usually transfer the money first before she could bring it up.
She said she had planned to suggest splitting the cost 50/50, but before she managed to do so, her friend had already sent RM10 and informed her that the transfer had been made.
Netizens say RM10 a week is too little
Many netizens in the replies said the amount was far too low, especially considering the distance travelled each week.
Some pointed out that 48km a day over five working days comes up to around 240km a week, making RM10 seem unreasonable even as a basic fuel contribution.
Others said that if the woman felt uncomfortable asking directly, she should calculate the weekly fuel cost properly and show her friend the estimated amount, including petrol and even car maintenance.
Several users also said that if the friend found a fairer contribution too troublesome, then she should simply make her own way to internship instead.
A few commenters suggested that even RM10 per day would sound more reasonable than RM10 per week.
Apart from criticising the amount, some netizens also felt the woman was being taken advantage of for being too soft-hearted.
They encouraged her to speak up, saying that asking for a fair share of petrol money was not being calculative, but common sense.
Others were more blunt, saying there was no reason for one intern to shoulder almost all the transport cost while another benefited from the ride daily.
