Sisters in Penang Break Stereotype As They Thrive As Delivery Women With Their Pickup Truck

By Edleena Sephia  •  21 Jun 2021 in News

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39-year-old Sabariah Sobri is showered by dozens of compliments every time she is greeted by recipients of packages she delivers in her black pickup truck.

People have different kinds of reactions when Sabariah shows up at their doorsteps, she said, “People are baffled, awestruck and curious. I have had funny encounters with people, though they are usually pleasant.

“Once, someone did not want to open their door because they thought I was a repossessor,” she revealed.

In one of her many encounters, she remembers having to run back into her truck after being chased by a dog when the residents of a house opened their electric gate.

“I leapt to the back of my pickup truck. Thinking back, I laugh at how quickly I jumped onto my truck, but I did suffer from a swollen ankle for two weeks,” she said.

According to The Star, Sabariah had to shut down her mini market in Batu Ferringhi because of the pandemic last year and decided to become a delivery woman in order to survive financially.

Prior to the pandemic, Sabariah was able to survive with her small business but since her main customers were tourists, she had to close her mart.

“Once the pandemic started, we had almost no customers at all. We closed the mart for a while and reopened it recently. There still isn’t much business, though,” she said.

Sabariah started her journey as a delivery woman with part-time deliveries for a month just to get a taste of what she would get into full-time.

“The first week was stressful and I was almost brought to tears learning the various routes and locations.

“Then I got the hang of it and now, it is something I honestly enjoy.

“I look forward to meeting new people,” she added.

For a year, her daily routine begins with her starting deliveries at 8.30am and ending by 6pm though there are days where deliveries would last until 8pm.

Sabariah added that using a pickup truck also has it ups and downs, “When it rains, I must wait in covered parking places, but I have found a way around this problem. If it threatens to rain, I will change my route and deliver the parcels assigned to malls first.

“I drop them off and wait it out until the rain stops.”

Sabariah’s younger sister, 35-year-old Sabarida recently followed her sister’s footsteps after leaving her job in the hotel line.

“It is different from working in a hotel. You are tasked with delivering packages and just need to send them all out within that day,” said Sabarida.

“People are kind. The moment they see a woman dropping the parcel off, they come out to help carry it,” she said.

Sabarida even said that her three children thinks highly of her current job and are even impressed with the stories of her deliveries at the end of the day.

In a male-dominated field where people usually expect a man, Sabarida said “It is empowering to be able to do what people think of as a man’s job.

“We have children and we teach them that this is a good, honest living.”