Raya without the familyBy CHRISTINA TAN (The Star-23 Sept 2008)
PORT KLANG: Although most Muslims are taking time off from work to be with their loved ones on Hari Raya, there are some who sacrifice this joy because of their jobs.One such group is the port workers at Westport Malaysia Sdn Bhd who work round-the-clock to ensure the smooth running of the daily shipment of cargo.Quay crane operator Azhari Ibrahim, 37, is among the many Westport workers who will work this Hari Raya and miss celebrating it with his family in Alor Star for the sixth time since joining the company 10 years ago.Friendly atmosphere: Titus talking with his colleagues (from left) Hamidi Mohd Toha, Azhari,
Mohd Saleh Abinoh and Mohd Amir at Westport in Port Klang recently.
"Who doesn't want to spend time celebrating the festive occasion with their family? But for us, duty comes first," he said.He said it was tough enough having to spending the festive season without his parents and wife but this year it would be even more difficult because he would be missing the first Hari Raya celebration with his two-month-old daughter."The sadness lessens when I celebrate the first day of Hari Raya with my non-Muslim colleagues and also the Muslim ones who have to work through the festive period," he said."Everyone would come to work in their baju Melayu and have ketupat and rendang prepared by the company before they start work."Being a crane operator, Azhari will be on the seven-storey-high crane station to load and unload goods from the cargo vessels docked at the port in Pulau Indah.Dispatcher Mohd Amir Hassan, who provides job assignments to crane operators from the port's planning centre, said he had been working with Westport for 10 years and had spent most of his Hari Raya celebrations at the port."It is okay for me to spend Hari Raya at work, but my wife will merajuk (sulk) sometimes because she has to take the children back to Sungai Siput on her own," he said.Vessel operations manager Titus Raj Francis Xavier said quay crane operators and dispatchers were the most important groups and the port could not operate without them.He said that with Muslims making up 70% of the workforce at the port many of them sometimes have to wait several years for their turn to go on Hari Raya leave
PORT KLANG: Although most Muslims are taking time off from work to be with their loved ones on Hari Raya, there are some who sacrifice this joy because of their jobs.One such group is the port workers at Westport Malaysia Sdn Bhd who work round-the-clock to ensure the smooth running of the daily shipment of cargo.Quay crane operator Azhari Ibrahim, 37, is among the many Westport workers who will work this Hari Raya and miss celebrating it with his family in Alor Star for the sixth time since joining the company 10 years ago.Friendly atmosphere: Titus talking with his colleagues (from left) Hamidi Mohd Toha, Azhari,
Mohd Saleh Abinoh and Mohd Amir at Westport in Port Klang recently.
"Who doesn't want to spend time celebrating the festive occasion with their family? But for us, duty comes first," he said.He said it was tough enough having to spending the festive season without his parents and wife but this year it would be even more difficult because he would be missing the first Hari Raya celebration with his two-month-old daughter."The sadness lessens when I celebrate the first day of Hari Raya with my non-Muslim colleagues and also the Muslim ones who have to work through the festive period," he said."Everyone would come to work in their baju Melayu and have ketupat and rendang prepared by the company before they start work."Being a crane operator, Azhari will be on the seven-storey-high crane station to load and unload goods from the cargo vessels docked at the port in Pulau Indah.Dispatcher Mohd Amir Hassan, who provides job assignments to crane operators from the port's planning centre, said he had been working with Westport for 10 years and had spent most of his Hari Raya celebrations at the port."It is okay for me to spend Hari Raya at work, but my wife will merajuk (sulk) sometimes because she has to take the children back to Sungai Siput on her own," he said.Vessel operations manager Titus Raj Francis Xavier said quay crane operators and dispatchers were the most important groups and the port could not operate without them.He said that with Muslims making up 70% of the workforce at the port many of them sometimes have to wait several years for their turn to go on Hari Raya leave
(Group B team members :- Titus (VOM), Yassin (OPM), Ignatius (VPM), AJ (YPM), Yoges (SOM), Vijay (SOE)..wishing " Selamat Hari Raya".
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