The mechanic asks her to start the car and then asks her to start it again with the air-con on.
"I can't find anything wrong with your car," he smiles apologetically making sincere eye contact.
"What a shameless liar lazy bump", poverina curses in her heart, wishing she could kick the lazy guy's butt and get him to work. Alas being a poverina, she can only pretend to believe him and left.
The following week, the little kancil is coughing. So she drives the little kancil to Bundusan Industrial area opposite Perodua service centre and chooses a workshop randomly.
A friendly mechanic whistles at the dilapidated spark plugs and says these must be replaced. Also the belt behind the plugs needs to be changed too. The charge is RM90 almost all the cash in poverina's purse but she gladly pays as long as the car doesn't break down during CNY.
On the second day of CNY, the kancil's engine refuses to come alive. Instead of the usual revving, it is just " tak tak tak tak tak". So poverina calls the friendly mechanic and tells him what have happened.
"I am won't be working until next Monday," is the reply, " I think you have to find another mechanic." Poverina presses on the red button of her out of date Nokia, uttering maledictions for the scoundrel. ( No mechanics work during CNY, thanx for the wishy washy service and crap )
Poverina's honourable father is an Ah Pek who is exactly 70 years old this year. He has been a trained mechanic for 4 decades. Since colour TV appears in KK, he becomes hopelessly addicted to the tube and has been an unrepentant couch potato.
Honourable father's eyes are fixed to astro as always when she tells her folks about her car.
"Ah, it must be your starter," barks her honourable mother.
"Nah...the tak tak tak indicates a weak battery," says the old man, eyes still on TV. The mother and daughter disputes his theory because the kancil has just got a new battery two months ago. Honourable father doesn't budge both his butt and from his theory.
Mother begins to do some plannings while poverina plans on waiting until CNY holidays are over to walk to the nearest petrol station and beg a mechanic to come to the house.
The next morning, honourable mother buys a wire from Lintas then hen-pecks her husband to prove his diagnosis. Using the wire she has bought and connecting it to big clips, he conducts electricity from the battery of his wife's shabby wira to the kancil's battery. After one try, the kancil's engine comes alive!
With 30 minutes, Ah Pek replaces the battery under his wife's supervision. The kancil is good to go again!
Conclusion: Poverina used to have an American friend who complains about the mechanics in KK : they charge her money for this and that but her car is never fixed.
Sadly and obviously this friend is right. Woe to those whose cars break down in Kota Kinabalu.
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