Case of workers demanding ang pau

THE Lunar New Year is a time both for celebration and for workers with the local council’s contractors to demand ang pau from residents in housing estates. In my housing area, this occurs without fail every year and some residents give in to the demands of these workers for fear of reprisal.

At about 3pm on the first day of the Lunar New Year, I saw four guys wearing the typical red, long-sleeved T-shirt with the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) logo approaching my house. One carried a grass rake, another a dustpan with a long handle, the third a broom while the fourth held a big plastic bag to collect cut grass. I could see they were not the regular workers employed by the MBPJ contractor to cut grass or clear the drains (which, incidentally, takes place once in a blue moon) in my residential area.