A Matter of Trust

Today after my quick breakfast, as I had been not too well to have a hearty breakfast since coming down with wheezing and coughing, I went straight to the Hj. Baree Car Wash about less than 5 minutes from my house. I met the driver of the Sikh Chettiar at the place and he greeted me and was wondering where I had been for the past three weeks. Since I came back from Umrah, I was recuperating at home and seldom seen at the car-wash because I took the monthly package of RM 50.00 and I can have my car washed any number of times I wish. When he knew that I just returned from Makkah about a week ago, he seemed quite hurriedly excused himself and left me by myself. Seeing his quick gateway, I was wondering why. Then it dawned upon me that he's the driver of the Chettiar (the modern type now known as collection agency, licensed to collect debts from debtors of utilities and banks as well as finance houses). The Chettiar was once perhaps a policeman and now he regularly contributes to the Police Mess fund. At the same time he gets an indirect protection from the nearby Police patrol beats. After the car-wash boys finished their job on my car, I handed the person-in-charge a paper bag containing some dates which I bought in Medina for the car-wash owner, Hj Baree. Since the last one I gave him disappeared into the stomach of his car-wash worker, all Indonesians, I told the workers whoever ate this new supply will go down with stomachache. The person-in-charge quickly warned his boys not to take anything from the paper bag before Hj Baree "naik steam" and be prepared for his wrath.