TANAH MERAH, Sept 4 — Being laughed at by friends and received sarcastic comments from netizens for selling women’s headscarves online, have failed to dampen the spirit of a construction worker, Sharifudin Junoh, from looking for ways to survive amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sharifudin, 33, from Kampung Tengah, Bukit Panau here, previously worked as a construction worker but lost his source of income when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Speaking to Bernama, Sharifudin said the Movement Control Order (MCO) in March last year forced him to look for other means to survive and that was when he switched to carpentry then subsequently to something new and totally foreign to him as an online trader.
“Initially, I felt ashamed as I was a man who wanted to sell women’s headscarves. But I had to put that feeling aside for the sake of earning an income in order to continue surviving.
“Among the challenges which I had to face were the ridicules from closest friends who said I was a ‘soft’ man.
“In fact, when selling directly through Facebook, some left behind comments and sarcasm which affected my morale,” he said.
However, the criticism received did not weaken Sharifudion’s spirit, and he could now take pride in generating between RM1,000 and RM2,000 a month from the sales of the scarves.
“Shame? Shame has no meaning in my dictionary when I made the decision to sell women’s scarves online despite attempts to weaken my resolve.
“The advice by the owner of the scarves brand has since become my motto, for me to continue this business and find additional income so that I don’t have to depend on my income as a construction labourer which is currently hard to come by,” said the seven of eight siblings.
After a year of selling women’s scarves, Sharifudin is confident that gender is not the true measure for a person to succeed, what is important is determination, effort and setting aside the feeling of shame to perform something that will benefit him and his family.
“I have always believed that sustenance is Allah’s provision and as long as we continue to strive, there will be results,” he said.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency