You are still my Wira

(Read a story about a man's love affair with his car)

Our love affair started in a Proton showroom somewhere in Selayang back in December 1997. It was a particularly disastrous year for the rest of the country. Malaysia was choking with thick haze, the worst environmental problem that this country had ever faced. Our ringgit was tumbling down into what was going to be the worst financial disaster as well. With the help from somebody who had connections, we were officially engaged three months earlier after I beat some other prospective buyers in a normally 6 month long waiting list. Your lot was that popular back then. Your more curvy sisters, the Gen2 and the Savvy, and your more muscular brother, the Waja, were not yet born. They painted you blue, not because I couldn’t differentiate red and green but because blue was my favourite colour. We started our life together on the first day of Ramadan that year. It was the first time I entered the world of mobility.

Just over a month later, we greeted the coming of my other life partner, somebody who would occupy the front passenger seat for most of your working life. You were witness to some of our romantic times together as newly wed couple. I was on top of the world. I had a brand new car and new wife too! What else could a man want? Friends joked about the similarities and differences of a new car and new wife. One said I needed to treat both of them gently. One I paid cash while the other was on a loan. I was told to avoid going into potholes with one but not the other! And whatever they said, truly I enjoyed both.

Exactly one year later you faithfully took my wife and me home through the jungles of Pahang and Kelantan while the baby inside her could pop out any moment along the way. She wanted to deliver our first baby with family members around and you safely delivered us home. We celebrated the third member of my own family, somebody who would be occupying one of your seats at the back. No complain from you and you kept performing like new. I took you to a Proton service centre for regular check-ups. Just the normal lube and filter change. I complained about them charging too much but I knew I had to go to them because you were still under warrantee. You clocked more than 20,000 km in the first year, a distance far enough to go around the world. Your water pump started making abnormal noises but you were perfect again after I was forced to replace it. You drank very little – a 30 ringgit fuel would take us from Kajang to Pasir Mas. Of course as you get older, you drink even more. Now you need 60 ringgit worth of fuel to go the same distance. But I know it’s not just because you drink more, it’s also because fuel price has increased a lot in 10 years.

Because of my lack of driving experience, you had a number of bruises and a few near misses in the first few years of you life, but so far you have spared me from any bruises. I got your broken bumpers and dent mudguard replaced, repainted and you became spotless again. The roof started to show signs of blisters after a couple of years. Over the years it corroded even more and I had to replace it. That was the time I decided to change your colour. It was time to give you new clothes I thought. But underneath I know you are still you.

Three years after you came into the family you proved to be useful again. I will never forget taking my ailing mother from Pasir Mas to Kajang to spend her last days with me. I also remember how well you performed when we trailed the ambulance from Kajang to Pasir Mas bringing my mother home when she was gravely ill and wanted to breathe her last in her own home. Though she is no longer here, I am sure she enjoyed the ride taking her to places that she had never been the whole of her life. The family went to Melaka to see Hang Tuah, to Pangkor and Port Dickson for holidays, to KLCC to see the tallest twin towers in the world. I could see how appreciative she was going to these places after spending nearly 50 years of her life in rural Kelantan.

Over the years I have been tempted to dump you for a new one. There are so many attractive new prospects in the market with various easy payment schemes. The temptation is always there. Probably something that can carry more people as my family has grown in number and size. Perhaps something more comfortable from the MPV species. But every time that thought comes up, I look back at how faithful you have served me and my family and I quickly find reasons to still keep you in my garage.

I admit I have not been a good owner. I am not the man who spends two hours every Sunday morning caressing his car. I am sure you will understand that I’ve got other more important things to do. Sometimes you go for months without bathing, left in the hot sun to bake yourself or soaking wet in the afternoon thunderstorm. But you should know by now our relationship is based on a simple motto: you are here to serve me, not the other way around. They say the average Malaysian changes their car every four to five years. Our relationship has survived twice that long because you have become so sentimental to me. We grow old together. I have raised my family with your help. You make me feel guilty to dump you for something new.

Yesterday I went to the JPJ office to officially cancel the ownership claim from my previous employer who had financed the loan. I know I have fully repaid the loan two and a half years ago but I kept postponing the trip to JPJ until yesterday. They put a stamp on your registration certificate and now you are officially my Wira. I don’t know how much longer can I keep you in the face of so much temptation out there. But for now at least, after almost 10 years, you are still my Wira.


Kajang
9 June 2007.