Elderly OKU Uncle Sells Vegetables Near A Bank Branch To Earn A Living

Elderly OKU uncle sells vegetables outside a bank branch

Malaysians are no strangers to seeing small businesses setting up shop along kaki limas outside banks due to the consistent flow of foot traffic it gets. But while we’ll see our share of cobblers, and individuals selling street food and snacks at these areas, rarely do we come across vegetable vendors. So when a Malaysian man stumbled across an elderly OKU uncle who had recovered from a coma selling vegetables outside a Maybank branch in Penang, he reached out to others online, hoping that he could help spur on business for the uncle.

Recovering uncle selling vegetables outside bank

The uncle’s story was shared by Asri Faris Omar on Facebook group Penang Kini’s page on 7th October 2020. According to it, Asri had been at Maybank’s Bertam branch at Kepala Batas in Seberang Perai, Penang when he came across the uncle.

Instead of your usual offerings of easy grab-and-go street food or snacks, the uncle was spotted sitting on a gunny sack along the bank’s outdoor corridor with vegetables laid out on a makeshift mat in front of him.

Penang uncle selling vegetables
Image credit: Penang Kini

His simple inventory comprised cucumbers, green and red chillis, eggplants, and potatoes. On a piece of paper, there was a carefully written list of prices for the vegetables that he was selling for the day, ranging from RM3 for 1kg of long melon (labu air) to RM14 for 1kg of chillies (cabai hidup).

The Facebook post also mentioned that these vegetables are sourced from a small farm the uncle co-owns with a friend, and that the elderly man can be found outside the bank from 10AM-6PM almost every day, selling his veggies. But as the OKU uncle needs the help of a walking cane to move around, he is unable to conduct his business on days when he doesn’t feel well enough.

Penang uncle selling vegetables
Price listings for the uncle’s vegetables, along with a comment below the list to appeal to passers-by to help out an OKU citizen.
Image credit: Penang Kini

In the post, it was also mentioned that the reason why the uncle needs a walking cane is because he is an OKU citizen who recently recovered from a 4-month coma because he got into a road accident with a concrete mixing transport truck. The uncle works hard now to make a humble living for himself, setting up shop outside the bank and selling off these homegrown vegetables to anyone passing by.

Asri also shared with Penang Kini that the uncle is not asking for any charity, but that he is reaching out on his own accord to anyone who is willing to help to drop by and support the elderly uncle’s business.

Netizens show support for uncle

The post had many coming out to tag their friends to notify them of the uncle’s business in a show of support. This included Rosni Haroon, who tagged her friend and commented, “Let’s go buy [from him] tomorrow”.

Image adapted from: Rosni Haroon

Others also came out to share their good reviews of the uncle’s produce, with Facebook user Lizza Husna saying, “His vegetables are really fresh. I bought [vegetables] from him before. He’s a good man”.

Image adapted from: Lizza Husna

Some who had spoken to him before also had good things to say about him, including Nurul Husna who commented, “I wish his business all the best. I bought [vegetables] from him before and chatted with him. I like his hardworking attitude. His vegetables are all reasonably priced.”

Image adapted from: Nurul Husna

OKU uncle sells vegetables outside a bank branch to supports himself

It wasn’t too long ago when a roadside seller in Penang caught our attention for his generosity even during a slow day of business, thanks to a Malaysian woman who shared news about his small business online. And now, we have another Malaysian reaching out to his community to help raise awareness of the plight of this uncle. So it just goes to show how strong our #kitajagakita spirit is.