Mum gifts cookies to mamak workers on daughter’s first birthday
A birthday for a one-year-old would typically be celebrated with a party but for Su Yen Pang, 30, it was also about giving back.
On top of a party with family and friends, her daughter Hailey’s first birthday last month was celebrated by sharing the gift of cookies with workers of her local mamak restaurant in return for their kindness to Hailey and their family.
A birthday for a one-year-old would typically be celebrated with a party but for Su Yen Pang, 30, it was also about giving back.
On top of a party with family and friends, her daughter Hailey’s first birthday last month was celebrated by sharing the gift of cookies with workers of her local mamak restaurant in return for their kindness to Hailey and their family.
“On one occasion, we didn’t have enough cash. He trusted us to pay on our next visit and on top of that he would give extra tidbits to Hailey,” Pang told Malaysiakini.
The staff were also kind to Pang when she was pregnant with Hailey, she recalled, making her off-the-menu dishes as a gift to her baby.
“Once he made us a special thosai recipe which was not on the menu. It had a different combination of ingredients that he made for himself and he gave us some, saying it is for the baby,” she said.
Being a regular customer, she and her husband have been going to the mamak restaurant for two years now due to its vicinity near their home.
As they visited it regularly, the couple became acquainted with the workers who would then follow Pang’s pregnancy journey.
“They saw my tummy grow and when Hailey was born, we brought her over to introduce her to them,” she said.
She said they were all very friendly, despite knowing only basic Bahasa Malaysia. One of them was more fluent in the local language and became closer to the family for a special reason.
“He, too, had a newborn back home, so he had a soft spot for Hailey.”
Pang also shared some cookies with the security guards at the family’s condominium.
As Hailey’s birthday was during the Christmas week, the gift of cookies for the mamak restaurant staff was an extension of Pang’s Christmas tradition of giving back during the festive season.
“Growing up, I would write letters to my friends and make different initiatives to reach out to people. When Hailey’s birthday came up, I thought it was a great opportunity to do something about giving, together with her.”
Pang added that Hailey is now at the stage where she learns by observing Pang and her husband’s activities.
Therefore, she tries to set an example and hopes that Hailey will be able to hold onto the good values that she learns from her parents as she grows up.
“She is only one and may not understand it but I believe in cultivating good values from young in simple ways.”
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