Getting into costume to make life just a little bearable

 

Mahmud (not his real name) poses for a photograph with his cosplay colleague in front of the Sarawak state assembly building.

KUCHING: As tourists stroll along the Kuching Waterfront under the stifling evening heat, some seeking shelter from the sun and temporary respite through cold drinks, a duo of teddy bears draws the excited and giggling attention of children.

Accompanied by the songs of loud, cheerful music, the children exchange high-fives and pictures with the two bears as their parents put a handful of ringgit into a box on a speaker.

As the children leave, waving goodbye to the ever-smiling bears, their parents look on, content with the smiles and laughter shared on this day out in the city.

But for the pair under the costumes, it is yet another day of sweaty, hard work under the sun to put food on the table. And the day is only just starting.

Mahmud (not his real name) has been cosplaying as one of the lovable bears at the Waterfront for five years now, working from around 5pm to past midnight, earning just over RM100 on a good day.

Some might mistake it for a lazy way out to make a living, but very few will understand the sacrifice and effort that he has put into making ends meet all his life.

The 26-year-old, who is estranged from his family, told FMT that he had moved to Kuala Lumpur in 2009, when he was just 14, to work as a kitchen helper in a restaurant. He had flown to the peninsula with a group of friends after they were all recruited for the job.

A toddler clings to her father as she shyly interacts with the two bears.

But with rent costing up to RM700 a month while he earned merely RM1,200, he opted to make his home temporarily under a bridge near the Sungai Besi market, while venturing into cosplay for some side income.

“I didn’t know how I could survive with RM1,200 a month, when my rent was already so high. My meals weren’t even covered. So throughout the four years that I worked in KL, I lived under that bridge.

“After four years living like that, I had to move back to Kuching. The shop didn’t close, but I just couldn’t live like that any more,” said the Sarawakian who hails from Bau, Kuching.

Having moved back to his home state, he was forced to fend for himself as his mother had passed away, while his dad had left the family long ago. He also no longer kept contact with his two other siblings.

Mahmud, who is illiterate, fell back on his cooking background to make a living upon his return to Sarawak, while cosplaying as the lovable bear on the side to boost his income.

But just when things seemed to be looking up, Covid-19 struck and the government eventually implemented nationwide lockdowns in view of the pandemic.

As many restaurants had been forced to close for a period of time and take on losses, he lost his job as a kitchen helper.

With already so little savings of his own, push turned to shove and he had no choice but to resort to selling vegetables from house to house, just to stay afloat.

“I just looked for pucuk paku (a type of fern), which grows in abundance all around Kuching, and sold them to people. I didn’t make much, sometimes just RM10 a day. It definitely wasn’t enough for my daily expenses,” he recounted, beneath his costume.

He later took on various odd jobs just to pull through the lockdown, from working in construction, doing basic plumbing work, cleaning hotel rooms to washing cars.

The lifting of restrictions on the tourism sector was a big relief for Mahmud, as he finally got the chance to return to cosplaying in September.

Having yet to have nailed down a full-time job, the costume-donning gig is Mahmud’s main source of income for the meantime, working all the way from evening to midnight without any breaks for meals.

Starting at around 5pm, he stays on his feet until midnight, with no meal breaks until the day is done.

The silver lining in this unfortunate circumstance is that he can spend more time doing it while continuing to take on various odd jobs.

His meagre daily income suffices for now, especially thanks to a much lower rent of RM380 for a room in Bau, although how much he makes can also be affected by simple factors like the weather.

But he hopes to boost his chances in life, as faint as his prospects may seem to others for now.

“I haven’t got the chance to get hired for any cooking jobs so far, but I hope to cook again eventually to make a better living for myself,” he said confidently, before going back to entertaining more children who wanted to greet the adorable bear. - FMT