Acts of kindness turn strangers into friends, and a twist of fate brings them together as a family
Arun with his ‘father figure’, Peter.
IT all started with RM100 that Arun Shekwal had asked from Peter Ting to help pay the former’s hotel rent.
In 2011, Arun arrived in Sibu from New Delhi, India, to undertake seamanship training – he was only 19 then.
Initially, it was his dream to become a boxer but this had to be let go as his parents forbade him to pursue it.
“My parents wanted me to go to college and study engineering, but during my final few years in school, I felt like I did not want to study anymore,” the 30-year-old told thesundaypost.
Arun finished his secondary school education and was quite good in his studies.
His favourite subject was biology and one of the basic lessons taught under this subject was the administration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
“Not everybody can become medical doctor.
“That’s why we’re being taught this basic first aid in biology; we learn what’s the first thing that we need to do while waiting for help,” he said.
Charting his own way
Of four siblings, Arun was the only one who did not to college. He was more into physical exercises and was very passionate about boxing.
“One day, I sustained injuries from boxing – that was when my parents forbade me from pursuing this sport – ever.”
Out of frustration, he defied his parents’ call for him to take up engineering, and set his aim towards becoming a seaman instead.
According to him, the shipping industry is open to two career paths – nautical engineering, which requires certain academic and technical qualifications; and seamanship, where one can enter as a ‘fresher’ and undergoes basic training for six months.
Arun was interested in becoming a seaman, but with India generally not interested in taking in ‘freshers’, he signed up with an agent who eventually helped him land a job in Sibu.
The agent provided a rented house, which was one of Peter’s properties at Jalan Bukit Assek in Sibu, where Arun and his friend stayed at while waiting for jobs.
This left the two with nothing to do. As someone in a foreign land without any stable income, Arun became ‘a little bit worried’.
Proof of trustworthiness
Peter, 63, who had a garden and needed some help around the house, decided to offer the two some pocket money in return of them helping out a little – to which, Arun agreed.
“I would help clean the house sometimes; Peter has a garden, where I would help him do some gardening work, so that I could earn a little while waiting for (seamanship) work,” he said.
Arun said later on, due to the constant break-ins striking the house where he stayed at, he decided to put up at a hotel in Sibu for a while, using his own money to cover the room charges.
Then, he was asked to go for a medical check-up. It was when he found out that while waiting for him and his friend, their agent had been robbed and gotten injured.
“Our agent had our phones and passports at that time – we initially thought that he had left us high and dry,” he said.
However, with cash at hand quickly depleting, Arun was left with just enough money to cover a few days’ hotel stay and food.
Out of desperation, he remembered Peter.
“I remember that when I first came to Sibu, my agent told me that Peter was the owner of Payung Café.
“I tried to find the café and when I finally did, I asked for Peter’s phone number from one of the workers there.
“I contacted Peter, and said: ‘I need to borrow money from you’.
“I also told him what had happened; he (Peter) then asked me to look for my friends for help, to which I responded: ‘I don’t have any other friends’.
“He then gave me RM100, and I promised him that I would pay him back,” he recalled.
A few days later, Arun was finally able to withdraw money from the bank and had set out to repay the RM100 to Peter, but it was raining heavily the whole day.
“I remember that it was a Monday – I had promised him that I would pay him back on Monday afternoon, but it had been raining heavily since morning that day; I could not go out and look for him.
“Evening came and the downpour had yet to stop. Still, I was determined to pay him back, so I headed straight to his shop despite the rain.”
Peter was surprised to see Arun, who had braved the rain and risked catching a severe cold just to pay back the RM100 that he had borrowed.
To him, Arun had proven his trustworthiness.
Arun is now known as ‘Andy Ting’.
Friendship forged
In March 2012, Arun was transferred to Bintulu and he was there for only a few days when he contracted dengue.
He recalled how sickly he was at Bintulu Hospital – all his joints and limbs were hurting.
The doctor had told him that if there was no recovery over the next two days, he must be sent back to India.
It was during this time that he thought about Peter again.
Peter, upon receiving the news, knew that he had to see Arun.
“I heard his voice and he sounded like he wanted to cry – I knew that I needed to help him.
“So, on that day itself, I drove to Bintulu to see him. I spent maybe about 30 minutes with him at the hospital because I had an appointment with a client,” said Peter.
For Arun, it was the first time that he felt somebody actually cared about him.
Arun later continued his work as a seaman in Bintulu up until one late night, when he was involved in an accident where he fell into the river.
For his own safety, his employer decided to transfer him to another unit – from thereon, Arun was no longer a seaman.
Under this different unit, he was put up at the worker’s quarters, where he was the only foreigner.
Experiencing intense pressure from co-workers and working under a different environment proved too much for Arun – he later decided to quit.
However, on the day he left in June 2012, he had nothing in his pockets except for coins amounting to less than RM20.
“My co-workers had taken and spent all my money – except for the coins that I had in my bag, which was enough to cover the fare for a taxi trip to Bintulu bus terminal,” he said.
At the bus terminal, all Arun had to do was to collect the bus ticket that Peter had earlier purchased from Sibu.
He also received RM50 that Peter had arranged to be given to him so that he would not go hungry.
Peter said he got worried upon finding out what had happened to Arun, and advised him not to fight with his co-workers.
“Since he wanted to come back to Sibu, I asked the bus company in Sibu if I could pay for a one-way ticket from Bintulu – they said I could do that, so I did.
“I also gave RM50 to the bus company to be handed over to Arun once he collected the ticket,” he said.
Peter then asked Arun to forget about being a seaman and start his life anew.
He also helped Arun re-apply his working visa – this time, as a cook at Payung Café.
Reciprocation
It was a very frustrating situation for Arun, though – not only he could not fulfil his childhood dream of becoming a boxer, but his endeavour of staying on as a seaman had also failed.
Still, Arun listened to Peter’s advice and despite never having cooked anything in his life, he learned and practised it anyway.
Now, Arun could confidently prepare a variety of dishes and along the way, he has even learned hairdressing from Peter.
Peter said he started off as a hairdresser in 1977, back in Kuching. In 1979, he went for further training in Brunei where he stayed for one year, followed by another year of training in Singapore.
He returned to Sibu to open his own salon. In 1982, he went for a three-month Advance Hairdressing Course in London.
Peter’s kindness towards Arun was deemed as a reciprocation of the former’s experience in a foreign land.
He said he understood how kindness could help one go through a lonely and difficult road.
It all happened when Peter went for a short trip to Paris, France, to watch the biennial World Hairdressing Championships.
“I was a victim to pickpocketing at the airport, where all my cash was stolen.
“Luckily, my flight ticket and my travel cheque were still with me.
“I had yet to complete my course in London then, and I realised that I might not be able to complete it because I did not have enough money to pay the remaining fees.
“I returned to London, devastated,” he recounted the bitter experience.
Peter said at Hyde Park, there was a Spaniard whom he would often meet and chat with – one day, he asked Peter what was wrong.
After sharing his problem, the Spaniard offered Peter to stay at his place on minimal rent – not only that, he also offered Ting a job at his antique shop in Kings Cross during the weekends.
“From this experience, I realised that when in a desperate time, you really needed someone to help you; otherwise, you would not know where to go.
“London was very far away; for me at the time, it was like another world.
“It was then that I made a promise to myself – should I ever find a person in need, I must help him out also,” he said.
Arun prepares an order at Payung Café’s kitchen.
Nevertheless, Peter said when Arun first came to him and asked to borrow RM100, he actually rejected the request.
It was only moments later that he decided to give the money to Arun, out of sympathy.
“It’s only RM100 after all,” Peter told himself.
He said if Arun did not to pay him back, he would treat it as charity and would have nothing to do with the young Indian man any more.
“That Monday night, he went out to see me – soaking wet from the rain – just to pay back the RM100. I thought then: ‘This young man can really be trusted’; my perception of him changed,” said Peter.
Arun later added: “I can tell you that if that day, he (Peter) did not give me RM100, I would never come back.
“But he did give me RM100; he visited me when I was sick – I felt that somebody truly cared for me.”
These life-changing events – the Spaniard who saved Ting’s life, and Ting who in turn, saved Arun’s life – came full circle in 2013.
“I was talking to my mum while clipping her fingernails; suddenly, she became unresponsive.
“I felt weird, so I looked up and saw that her face had turned black.
“I screamed – thankfully, Arun was at home; he heard me and rushed over to check what was going on,” recalled Peter.
Thanks to the CPR knowledge gained from his past Biology class, Arun managed to resuscitate Peter’s mother, Wong Hie Ding.
The second incident struck not long after that, where Wong lost consciousness and Peter, again, called out to Arun for help.
“Her breathing was not so clear, so I extended the neck to lift the chin upward so that I could take a closer look inside her mouth.
“What I saw was the tongue having ‘collapsed’ into the throat, blocking the airway.
“I pulled out her tongue out before performing CPR on her,” said Arun.
“I also asked him (Peter) to rub her feet.
“Slowly, she regained consciousness.”
Wong was later sent to the hospital and after some examinations, the doctors allowed her to go home that same day.
One happy family
Arun spends some quality time with ‘Grandmother Wong’ at home.
Today, Wong is a healthy 101-year-old senior citizen.
Arun has since become a part of the family – he is now known as ‘Andy Ting’ and is living with Peter and Wong in their residence at Jalan Perpati in Sibu.
He calls Peter ‘his father’, and Wong, ‘his grandmother’.
“Before this, I did not understand this whole family thing. Family, for me, was just a burden; some rules and regulations that we must follow.
“My (biological) family is very strict.
“He (Peter) is a father figure, and I have learned a lot from him – I have learned to keep myself calm, to not always rush things, and to not take everything in anger.
“I might have been born to my parents (in India), but he (Peter) has shown and taught me how to live my life,” he said.
Arun added that his biological father had a great company, and his family in India was very wealthy.
However, his father was an alcoholic – this destroyed his career following an accident.
Adding on, Peter said he also learned a valuable lesson from the Spaniard whom he worked for in London.
“A woman came to the antique shop and expressed her wish to borrow some jewellery.
“He did not know this woman, but she said she would return the jewellery and would also give him some money in return for his kindness.
“Antiques are very expensive – my boss just gave it to her.
“Then one day, the woman came back to return the jewellery, and she also left behind an envelope that contained money.
“The money that the woman gave the Spaniard was more than the actual value of the jewellery that she had borrowed,” said Peter.
He then realised that kindness was the most valuable currency, indeed — it could change people’s lives, and probably save them as well.