'An angel was sent to me': Siti Khalijah on kind PHV driver who waited at remote cemetery to drive her out

For Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) drivers, time is of the essence if they want to earn more. 

But for one driver named Gani, he didn't mind putting aside time to show a little kindness to one of his passengers. 

Yesterday (May 19), local actress Siti Khalijah uploaded to Instagram Story her heartwarming experience with the man. The 36-year-old said she had booked a one-way ride to Pusara Abadi, a Muslim cemetery in Lim Chu Kang that's in a remote area and not easily accessible. 

She was unable to book her usual driver who would send her to and from the cemetery to pay her respects to her father who died on March 31 last year.

"I was gonna just try my luck and get a Grab out from there somehow," she said in her Story. 

Siti Khalijah added that after she entered Gani's car, he told her: "Once you're there, you just take your time and settle whatever you need to do, okay? I will wait and send you home because it will be difficult for you to get a car from there later."

When AsiaOne spoke with her today, she added: "There wasn't any form of pressure to hurry so I managed to do what I needed to do — cleaned my dad's grave, replaced the flowers and did my prayers."

She also visited the graves of a few family members and friends that were located nearby. In total, she was there for about half an hour. 

Throughout this time, Gani indeed waited for her without making any request for additional payment. 

Siti Khalijah made it a point to pay him a little extra for his thoughtfulness and later also expressed her gratitude in her Instagram Story: "Thank you so much Uncle Gani. You are extremely kind-hearted."

"It was definitely very touching because for me, I didn't even ask and it was offered to me so it's very thoughtful and kind-hearted," Khalijah told AsiaOne.

She added: "It's as though an angel was sent to me because I've been wanting to go and visit my dad's grave for a couple of days but I couldn't find transport and I can't drive… so I decided to go with my gut feeling. And then this happened and it was really, really heartwarming lah. I'm very touched."

Catch Siti Khalijah with fellow local actress Judee Tan on stage as they perform their show Meenah and Cheenah 2gether Gather at Capitol Theatre. The performance runs till May 22. Get your tickets here.

ALSO READ: Huang Biren felt 'shameless' for arriving at grandmother's wake only on the third day because of work