Local comedy legend Gurmit Singh, best known for his role as Phua Chu Kang, has opened up about his humble beginnings.
In a recent podcast, the 59-year-old actor shared his financial struggles growing up.
"We were a poor family," he shared on Malaysian YouTube channel Let's Get Real.
He recalled rarely seeing his father, who held down two jobs as a bank security officer and nightwatchman at another bank.
"My mum tried very hard to make sure we had enough money saved to be able to send us to go to school," he said.
The family had basic food for mealtimes, including rice, potato and "black sauce".
Gurmit recounted how he once asked his mother for ice cream when he was eight years old but was told no because they had no money.
At the time he admitted that he believed she was lying and thought: "What a stingy mother, this is the worst mother."
When he grew up, he realised how harsh it was of him to think that.
"She really didn't have money and really tried hard to make ends meet," he said.
For extra income, his mum would babysit and Gurmit was roped in to help feed and change the babies' diapers.
He added that this was how he grew to love and be comfortable with children.
He also remembered how his mum would buy uniforms for him and his two younger sisters that were two sizes too big so that she would not have to buy new ones every year.
His shoes and socks had holes in them and he recalled feeling so embarrassed, making efforts to ensure his friends never saw his torn socks.
"I didn't understand how poor we were," he said.
He realised that his family was different from his classmates when he was once asked during an economics lesson in Pre-U what his daily allowance was.
When he replied that he received 40 cents a day he noticed his schoolmates looking at him with confused faces.
He then discovered his peers received between $2 to $10 a day.
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He turned down invitations from friends to eat out after school due to his lack of money and would make up random excuses.
He would then go without food during recess for the whole week so he could save $2 by Friday and use this money to buy a Filet-O-Fish meal, including a drink and fries.
Despite his subsequent success, Gurmit never forgot the feeling of poverty.
He still seeks out McDonald's in new countries and cities and will order a Filet-O-Fish meal as soon as he checks in to his hotel.
With a quivering voice, he said, "Then I'll go somewhere, a corner in the street or an alleyway, and I'll pray to Him, and say: 'Thank you, God, that today I can buy Filet-O-Fish any time I want. I don't have to starve anymore.'"
This article was first published in The New Paper. Permission required for reproduction.
