Ice-breaker, kenalan baru dan car boot sale

Babies and toddlers are great ice-breakers! It works both ways; people smile and talk to me (after cooing Munief, of course) more easily, and I also approach people more confidently because I know comments like “Your baby is so cute!” can't be unwelcomed. For someone who is shy and reserved like me (malu yang kadangkala tak bertempat), this is something I appreciate very much.

Last Friday morning, when I was taking a walk with Munief, a routine when we are in Nibong Tebal, we came across a neighbour who’s vacuuming her car a few streets away. Suddenly, her toddler appeared besides the car, and to cut the story short, the kakak and I began talking (the usual ta’arruf), and Munief and Diana (the kakak’s daughter, who’s only one month older than Munief) started playing together (if you can consider tolak-tolak and kejar-kejar as playing). It didn’t take long for Kak Ain to invite us in. She took out a big box of toys and Munief sure had fun trying most of them out. Cerita punya cerita, rupa-rupanya Kak Ain and family just got back from the UK less than a year ago. For six years they had stayed in Newcastle, Sheffield, and Southompton while her husband Dr Dahaman completed his Masters, PhD, and then worked as a designer engineer for a few years. Although I’ve been back in Malaysia for 4 years, but memories of the good life and experience in the UK still left a strong impression on me, so we naturally exchanged UK stories.

One of the things we agreed upon is that food (groceries) is cheap over there. It’s also easy to get cheap stuffs from car boot sale, if you don’t mind secondhand things, which most of us don’t (in my experience) with the exceptions of several types of things for example crockery (sebab kena samak dulu), because the quality is still very good and the price is usually very cheap. Imagine buying a Ladybird storybook for 20p each, and a box of Lego at 1 pound. Kalau kat sini, hmmm tak taulah, belum berani nak masuk Toys’r Us lagi, boleh terkejut tengok harganya barangkali. Kak Ain said she bought a lot of toys, and had even distributed a lot to her adik-beradik and nephews and nieces. A friend of hers, she said, bought so much toys from the car boot sale – it almost took up one container. It turned out she was opening a nursery/kindergarten here in Malaysia. On hindsight, I probably should have bought more toys and books (reminder to self: ‘should have’ is not a good term to use!). Although I was already married in the final year I was there, I wasn’t in ‘the family way’ yet, and somehow my imagination didn’t stretch much into the future tch tch.

Munief and I left Kak Ain’s house a good hour afterwards; Munief hungry for his mid-morning milk and his Ummi pleased to have made a new friend. The conversation, however, did make me ask the question: why don’t we have car boot sales ‘culture’ in Malaysia (as compared to the UK)? Or more generally, used items market (their Ebay is a wonder too). If I’m not mistaken there have been attempts to create a similar market, but they weren’t as successful. Of course, there are individuals who do have ‘garage sales’ when moving out, or a mum advertising a used stroller in an online forum etc but it’s still very small, I think. The following are some of my theories:

• Families in the UK tend to have smaller number of children, perhaps one, two or three. So, a lot of things are only needed for a short period of time. In Malaysia however, the average number of children is higher. Clothes, toys, and books are handed down for many years.


• Space is much more of a constraint in the UK compared to Malaysia. When things are not needed anymore, families in the UK really have to get rid of them, and one of the ways is to sell them off. In Malaysia, we can still afford to have some storage space, and some things stays there for many years until they’re needed again. My son is playing with some of the same toys that I had played with when I was his age! (Thanks to dearest Mok)


• And the reason that those things keep for many years is the high quality. Secondhand things in the UK have values because they’re still in good conditions. In Malaysia, most things (that average people can afford lah, let’s not talk about the super expensive high quality toys) have shorter lifespan. So, it’s usually the case of ‘pakai habis’ or ‘pakai buang’ here.


• Families in Malaysia are closer to their extended relatives. So, if one feels like some items are still good but not needed anymore, one is more prone to giving it away to relatives (could be cousins, second cousins, auntie’s in-law’s and what-not) and friends who could use them.


• Buying power in Malaysia is lower (on average) compared to the UK, where families have more disposable income. Fancy the latest sofa design? Just buy it. And then sell the old one cheap. In Malaysia, I believe we tend to use our stuffs till they’re broken or got really worn out. In a way, this is good, because it implies we have lower level of consumerism culture.