An elderly man used a hawker as an example to her grandson, pointing at him and telling his grandson that if he doesn’t study hard, he will end up like him (the hawker).
The mother of the hawker was nearby at the time and overheard the elderly customer’s remarks, was saddened by what she heard and took to Facebook to defend her son.
The woman, Ms Ong, shared that she was with her son Steven at their burger stall when they heard an elderly customer tell his grandson that if he doesn’t study hard, he will end up working manual jobs like the hawkers.
Ms Ong said that she felt sad by the customer’s comments, while the son continued making the elderly customer’s burger quietly.
She later had a talk with her son about the incident and knew that the customer’s words had hurt his feelings, and she told him to ignore the man’s remarks.
She told him that he was doing a good job so far that encouraged him to continue working hard, adding that ever since he was young, he had been independent – he bought his own bicycle, phone, motorcycle, car and now his own home.
Ms Ong added that no matter a person’s career, they all deserve respect, and advised other people to live positively and ignore what other people say about them.
She told Sin Chew Daily that she has 2 children; Steven and another daughter.
She said that despite them not being highly educated, they are down to earth and hard workers, and that her son Steven had been managing his own money since he was young and even paid for his own house’s downpayment himself.
She sells popcorn at a stall beside her son’s burger stall, and whenever he’s busy she would go over to help him out.