Well, it DID !!!

This month is not good month … things were not going my way right from the beginning of the month. Many times, I have seen or heard of unfortunate incidents and I will say to myself … it will not happen to me. It is kind of like a self-consolation type of confidence that I think I am always the lucky one because I have not really experienced anything really really bad in my 56 years of life … up until last month, that is.

At the start of the October, I was told that my sister was diagnosed of thyroid cancer … quite late at the third stage. The news troubled me deeply … my dear sister whom I thought was healthily enjoying her life with her latest granddaughter is now very sick.

She went in and out of the hospital cancer ward for tests and scans … then the doctor told her that she will have to be treated by chemotherapy. There were concerns and worries but she made her decision and went for her first chemo. We all know how this treatment affects the human body … the side effects are terrible. I can see that she suffered a lot but it was her decision to go for chemotherapy. Just a couple of days ago, she went for her second chemo treatment and there will be six more to go. All we can do now is let the good doctors do the necessary and hope that she will recover soon.

My dear sister recovering from treatment

You see … before this, I have seen many people around me … friends, relatives, colleagues, neighbours … suffering from various type of cancers and every time I hear a story like this, I will always tell myself … I am one of the lucky ones … it will not happen to me or my loved ones.

But I was wrong … it DID !!!

Next comes another bad incident in the mid of the month. You see, I have an apartment rented out to a couple which they shared with another two tenants … have been rented to them for almost 6 years and all the while everything was well. I like this couple … the monthly rental was paid on time and the relation between landlord and tenant was very good. So much so that in the last six years … I have only increased the rental once and it was less than ten percent.

Everything went well until mid of October … in September, the wife told me that she “balik kampung” for a few weeks and will pay me when she comes back early October and I believed her. But up until mid of October, I did not hear from her and so I started calling. The line was cancelled.

I checked with the other two tenants staying at the house and both of them do not know where the couple is. They said that they were just sub-renting a room from the couple and they will be leaving by the end of the month since the couple have disappeared.

Now what I am sorry about is not so much of the rental not collected for two months (I collected some security deposits as per the rental agreement) … what I am sorry about is that I thought I can trust them after six years of landlord and tenant relationship … I thought they can be trusted and if they want to leave, at the very least, inform me. But it was not to be.

So, by the end of this month, I will be left with an empty apartment that needs to be cleaned, repaired, re-furbished and re-painted … there goes a few months of my pocket money.

Anyone want to rent an apartment in Sunway?

Then on the 23^rd of this month (just two days ago) … at about 7am while I was still sleeping in a cool rainy morning … my wife jerked me up and said … “your car GONE !!!”. I said …”WHAT ?” She replied quite loudly … “YOUR CAR IS GONE ... it is not parked where it was yesterday”

I quickly went downstairs … walked out to the garden and looked at where I usually parked my car … really, it was GONE !!! Stolen very obviously … then I took my wife’s car and foolishly drove around the neighbourhood hoping to find it. I know I will not find it but that was my first reaction … I thought that was the very least I can do. Anyway, after about ten minutes, I know it was a fruitless attempt and so I decided to go make a police report.

My faithful car ... STOLEN !!!

And that was when all the hassles start. Making a police report in Malaysia is quite easy actually … you go to the nearest police station and tell your story at the reporting desk and very quickly the officer in charge will type out the report … print a copy for you … you read it and then you sign it if everything is according to what you have just told the officer. Simple right?

No … that is just the first step! Next you have to be “interviewed” by the IO (that’s what I was told … I guessed it stands for Investigating Officer) who normally will be one of the Sergeants on duty at that time. Now, the Sergeant on duty is not always in the police station … for my case it was right at the time when they change shift. So, the earlier Sergeant has finished the shift and left … the next taking over has not arrived yet … yes, there were no IO dealing with my case at the time when I made my report.

So what to do? Wait lorrr … I was told the IO will be coming in soon … waited for about an hour but no one came. Then the officer at the front desk made a call … after that he told me that I need to come back later as the IO was “on site” dealing with another case. He could have told me earlier so I don’t have to sit in the police station for more than an hour.

Anyway … I was told to come back about two hours later and I did. Despite all the hassles earlier … I was glad that the IO turned out to be a sweet young lady … a Sarjan Haswani from “Unit Penjenayah” (Crime Unit) ... she was very kind and helpful … asking me all the relevant questions and telling me what the police will do and what I should do. The so called “interview” went on for about 45 minutes and I was told take a copy of the report to another officer to be “stamped” as a certified true copy. Only with this I can make my insurance claim and other reports and cancellations related to the stolen car.

So I went to get the police report “stamped” and you know what? The officer at that counter went out for tea ! YES, there were no one manning that counter … I think this only happens in Malaysia … where a counter in a police station is open but there is no one there … went out for tea apparently.

Now … if not because of the earlier sweet Sergeant … I would have complained but I decided to go and have a drink myself and make some calls. Later I finally got the “official certified true copy” of the report.

I don’t want to tell you about the hassles, the long wait, the forms, the documents that were needed for insurance claim and other related reports and cancellations … that will not make you feel good about the systems, procedures and processes of the various parties that you have to go through if your car is stolen.

Again … I have never in my life thought that my car will be stolen. I have seen and heard of many stolen car stories and I will always think that it will not happen to me.

Now, my point here is … never say that things will not happen to you. As positive as we want to face the challenges in life but really, life can just change in a moment. We think we are healthy and strong but a tiny virus can bring hell … we think we are active and mobile but a slip can put a stop to all that and we think we may be the fortunate ones but life can throw a curve at you anytime.

I used to say … “it will not happen to me” … well, it DID !!!