Hit by a prayers mat

At 1.15 PMI was in the car with my colleagues and we drove along Jalan Maroof, coming back from lunch.

Traffic was heavy around the Bangsar mosque area, the usual double lane parking, and the dense after-lunch-hour traffic.

There was this elderly guy, waving his prayers mat, indicating that he wants to cross the road to attend to the prayers. We couldn’t stop, so suddenly, since there were cars behind us. We didn't even realise what he was up to - trying to cross the road to run to the mosque. What did he do? He took the mat, and slammed it on the side of the car.

Nothing happened, of course, just a pretty loud thud. But what impression did he give us? If something would have happened – we stop and some other car crashes into us, it would have been us who are at fault, and he would have disappeared. And, being a religious man, one should be on time, and not do some violent act, as minor as this was. There were four of us in the car. The Mat Salleh (yours truly), two Chinese and one Malay).

We understood, after we realized that he wanted to go to the prayers. But what if the car behind us didn’t understand? I just don’t know what goes on in people’s head, sometimes.