Words can sting in ways we don’t expect especially when they come from strangers who don’t know our story.
For one Malaysian retail worker, a casual remark from a mother and her young child left an ache she wasn’t prepared for, turning an ordinary shift into a moment she couldn’t forget.
“Adik, speak Malay… she doesn’t understand English”
In her post, the woman shared that she was arranging figurines at work when a boy, around eight or nine years old, approached her and said, “Kakak, I want to change token.”
Before she could even reply, his mother interjected, “Adik, speak in Malay. That kakak doesn’t understand English.”
Trying to remain polite, the worker simply smiled. But as the mother walked away toward the token machine, she delivered a final blow, one that the worker described as unexpectedly painful.
“Study hard, okay? If not, you’ll end up like that kakak, only arranging toys,” the woman told her son.
The retail worker wrote that she froze for a moment, adding, “Aunty… I’m actually applying for my degree right now. I just haven’t received the offer yet.”
Netizens share their own painful encounters
Her story quickly resonated online, prompting many Malaysians to share their own experiences of being looked down upon while working part-time, retail, or service jobs.
One commenter recounted how people often assume retail workers are uneducated even when they’re just waiting for their next career step.
“My friend worked retail while waiting for his housemanship call-up. A customer told his kid, ‘Don’t be like this abang, he didn’t study.’
My friend told the kid, ‘You have a long journey ahead. I just finished medical school. Don’t judge people before knowing their story.’ The mother was furious,” he wrote.
“Do you understand, or should I explain In Malay?”
Another netizen said if they were in her shoes, they would have responded sharply:
“‘When you grow up, don’t emulate her. Become someone empathetic — someone who thinks before speaking.’ Then I’d turn to the mother and ask, ‘Do you understand, or should I explain it in Malay?’”
Retail workers say this happens more often than people think
Many Malaysians said they’ve faced similar assumptions simply because they worked in service or retail roles.
One student who worked part-time in catering recalled guests telling her to “go study,” only to turn silent when she revealed she was pursuing an engineering degree.
Another woman shared that when she worked as a cashier, a customer told her child, “Study hard… don’t end up like this kakak,” even though she already had a degree.
“When you work in a job where you serve people, that’s when you realise how many people think they’re above you,” one user wrote.
Many argued that every job deserves dignity, and that working retail or service roles does not diminish a person’s value, intelligence, or future.
As one commenter put it: “Never judge someone’s job or journey. You don’t know their story and you don’t know when you might end up in their shoes.”
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