A meaningful time
WALKING in someone else’s shoes has made Suria announcer Fizi Ali’s Ramadan more meaningful.
As part of Suria’s four-episode web series Fizi Kongsi, the radio deejay experienced the hard work that goes into setting up store at a Ramadan bazaar, for instance.
“I helped out a guy who sold murtabak. I went to his house and cooked with him. On the outside, it looks easy, but there’s a lot of preparation that goes into it,” Fizi shares.
But the most unforgettable experience so far had to be his meeting with a poverty-stricken man.
“We visited a man’s house in Klang. For 27 years, he didn’t go back to his hometown for Hari Raya because he had no money at all. We cooked for him and invited the neighbours, too. We also bought Raya clothes for him.”
The 29-year-old, who helms Suria Pagi (weekdays, 5am to 10am), says these experiences have impacted how he views his own life.
“Sometimes, I think having to divide my time between work and my wife, family and friends is hard. Actually when we feel like we’re having a tough time, someone else is having an even tougher time.
“Or when we feel like we have very little money, there are others who have even less.”
As for his Raya plans this year, the newly-married Fizi will be celebrating the occasion for the first time with his wife’s family at Kuala Kangsar for a few days before returning to his mum’s hometown in Kota
Tinggi, Johor.
“Every year my relatives ask me,
‘When are you getting married?’
I finally get to say
I’m now married.
“But then their next question will be: ‘When are you going to have a baby?’” he adds with a laugh.