Keep hustling: new year, new hope for bankrupt, school dropout

JOHOR BARU – At the height of his career, Zamarul, 35, was a senior executive at a property venture firm specialising in residential and commercial buildings.

Married with two wives and six kids, the man who hails from Johor Baru said: “Those days, I would go on and successfully sell off apartment blocks, not just a single unit.”

Back then, he would not think twice about lavish spending, including splurging on new cars and branded goods.

Life was good. In hindsight, perhaps I should have saved more for rainy days as you never know what life is going to throw at you,” said Zamarul when met by The Vibes.

Due to alleged misconduct in 2016, his professional licence was suspended, which also spelled the beginning of his financial plight.

He did manage to get his name cleared of any wrongdoing but due to the loss of income during this lengthy process, Zamarul was declared bankrupt in 2018.

“There was a time during this torrid period when I was out of work and life was bleak. I would wake up in the morning and dress up formally and just sit in the hall, staring at the wall for the entire day while doing nothing.”

After months of grieving, and with continuous family support, Zamarul – who has a knack for cooking – went on to set up a food and beverages stall in Larkin in 2018, and he once again managed to make a stable income, albeit not as much as he did before.

And in 2020, he set up his second stall in Perling, in Iskandar Malaysia, the main southern development corridor in Johor, and began setting his sights on clearing his insolvency status.

“But then Covid-19 came along… at first I only temporarily closed down the stall in Larkin during the height of the MCO (movement control order), I could no longer sustain running both stalls as sales dropped significantly.

As the MCO continued for months, and with sales continuing to stagnate, I had to cease the operation of my business as the returns were no longer sustainable.”

Needing to start from scratch, Kamarul now offers mobile car services – where customers can call him for minor services for their vehicles, including changing batteries and routine vehicle servicing.

“You can’t quit life, you need to persevere. I’m still looking at other opportunities and I wanted to turn my life back. At the end of the day, I need to keep on hustling, it’s all for the family.”

Zamarul was part of the 10,378 Malaysians aged between 25 and 34 who were declared bankrupt between 2018 and September this year, as revealed by the Insolvency Department then.

They are among nearly 48,000 people declared bankrupt during that period, which includes over 200 cases aged below 25.

Experience equally important as certificates

Another 35-year-old Johor Baru native, who only wished to be known as Eddy, said while certificates are a pertinent factor in searching for well-paying jobs, he believed that working experience is equally important.

“I was thrown out from school for unruly behaviour in Form 4,” the freelancer told The Vibes.

“But I had learned how to make money since I was 12, where I would go around collecting scrapped tin and metal.

I did take my SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia) but as a private candidate in Kuala Lumpur. But I would say that while a certificate matters, your work experience and connections are important too as they will help you climb up the ladder in your career.

“I had worked as a dispatch rider in the private sector before. And after a while, I was given an opportunity to become the personal assistant to a general manager in a Johor-based company.

“And despite my lack of certificates, I am also an experienced hotelier having worked in the industry for over six years before the MCO.”

He said that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many hotels have closed down or scaled down operations, which also impacted him.

But with his skills in photography and graphic design, he now offers his services as a freelancer.

Life is a marathon… you need to persevere. You can’t be discouraged by what you don’t have, but you need to utilise everything that you own to make a life.

“There will be opportunities available and if you’re a good person, people will recommend you to others when opportunities arise.” – The Vibes, January 1, 2023