THE CICAK.com

Cabbies: The heartbeat of a nation

By KEITH LEONG

My life and work have often brought me into contact with a certain breed of men and women. They are racers, hustlers, advisers, and even confidants, all rolled into one. They are the taxi drivers. They exist in every corner of the globe, and I have met their brethren in Thailand, Australia and Malaysia.

This article is primarily about the drivers from the last country, so I will deal with the first two only briefly. Thai cabdrivers drive like maniacs, but everyone else in the streets of Bangkok does the same, so you can’t really blame them. And since I was usually severely intoxicated when I used the taxis in Sydney, any memory of my interaction with Australian cabbies has (perhaps fortuitously) been erased by the haze of alcohol.

Which brings us to the men (it has always been men for me, though as we all know there are women cabbies) who ply their trade as taxi drivers on our streets. I have met taxi drivers of all races and ages here in Malaysia. Their cars are painted red and white, green, yellow and even purple. I find talking to them is always a sure-fire way of reconnecting with the people of my country, from whom I sometimes feel so distant.

Now, taxi drivers have been getting a lot of bad press since like, forever. But personally, I don’t mind them.

I’ve rarely, if ever met a cab driver whom I feel has treated me unjustly or poorly. Say what you want about them, but they provide a very important service to us all. Urban life would be just plain chaotic and unbearable if we didn’t have them trawling the streets.

As you can guess, I enjoy talking to cabdrivers. I don’t find talking to a complete stranger weird or improper at all, unlike some people (my mother included). I mean, what else are you going to do for the rest of the trip? You might as well reach out to another human being.

Empathy, Malaysians, remember the empathy.

Now, I swear to you that there is an actual procedure you have to follow to talk to these people. The first step is where you position yourself in the cab. You can sit at the back, of course, but then you’d be acting like a big boss and no one wants to seem like a jerk. So the best position to ride in if you want to communicate with the cabbies is shotgun.

Firstly, there’s this thing I call “The Pause.� It’s that solemn, almost sacred moment of silence during the first few moments of the ride, after you’ve just got in, having haggled with the driver over directions and/or the fare. “The Pause� can be broken by either the cabbie or yourself after a decent interval. The convention, however, is that it can only be done with an offhand remark about one of two things: the traffic or the weather. So, one of you can begin by commenting on how jammed or (however unlikely) uncluttered the road is today. Or you can discuss how hot/rainy the day is.

Some people are content to leave their intercourse with the taxi drivers at that. However, if one wants to continue the next logical step is to turn the topic of your conversation to your respective careers. Again, either the driver or you can set this in motion.

He will ask you if you are working (“Kerja ke?� [Do you work?] Or simply “Kerja?�), and where you work and/or as what (“Kerja mana? Kerja apa?�). Being the one who initiated the dialogue in the first place, the taxi driver will normally express anything from polite interest to gregarious enthusiasm at the various details of your job.

If you wish to start, the best way is to enquire as to where he normally plies his trade. “You biasa kerja sini-kah?� (Do you usually work here?) will usually suffice. You can then go on to enquire how lucrative these routes are, and most drivers will be more than willing to enlighten you on the conditions of their profession. A sympathetic attitude normally helps to move things along when listening to their grouses, and you will be surprised at how similarly they will react to yours.

After these initial stages of conversation you and your driver are pretty much free to talk about anything under the sun. I have talked to them about such diverse topics as politics, economics, society, and even religion. Dry humour and good-natured cynicism are highly prized among them. A good rule of thumb when conversing with cabdrivers can be applied to speaking in general: always have an open mind and be willing to share your thoughts or feelings if the situation calls for it.

You are not, of course, REQUIRED to talk to every cabdriver you hire, and some of them are often in no mood to talk. But then again, what else are you going to do? I imagine a lot of cabdrivers take pains to hone the quality of their bantering - good interpersonal skills are vital in their line of work.

However, there are indeed rude, reckless and unscrupulous taxi drivers. I have encountered them before and will probably continue to do so. They can be the smoothest talkers of the lot. But I can honestly say from my personal experience that bad cabbies are the exception rather than the rule. Most of their brethren are honest, hard-working people who hate these bad eggs as much as we do.

I shall end by waxing lyrical: I feel my taxi fare gets me a lot more than just transportation for a certain distance. The drivers are my ears on the ground and on the heartbeat of the people. From their opinions, hopes, and dreams, I get an insight into the same sentiments of the men and women on the street. This is obviously because the taxi drivers are those men and women, who provide a very important service.

You don’t need a high-up contact or a Lonely Planet travel guide to learn what’s going on in a country; an honest cabbie and enough ringgit notes for the fare (plus a tip if you’re generous) will do.
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KEITH LEONG is a contributing writer for theCICAK.

Keith was born in Melaka, grew up in Damansara Jaya and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New South Wales, Sydney. He enjoys baroque music, grand epic movies and long walks. He still lives and works in Damansara Jaya.