Win-win

MA: I saw them as I made the U-turn. And one of them saw me talking on the phone. And he also saw that my seat belt was off. I tried lamely pushing the phone under the seat and pretended to dig my ear. But he was furiously blowing on the whistle and pointing angrily while yelling into the walkie talkie. And his compatriot up ahead ran towards me , waving his baton.I stopped. I had been caught talking on the phone while driving, and with my seat belt off. I waited. Mr Policeman approached me. He was smiling and was exceedingly courteous, "Selamat petang tuan", he smiled. He was probably thinking, "Got you, you slimy rat".
"IC dan lesen tuan", he smiled widely. My heart sank further. My licence had expired a week ago. No time to renew. I took out my wallet. And started bleating excuses and apologising profusely to the man.

Mr P: It was just the 18th of the month, but the bank balance was zero. The wife had come up hesitantly to me this morning, “Bang, susu dah tak ada. Bil letrik pun kena bayar.” I was irritated, “Nanti petang kita bincang.” And then little Suraya ran up, “Yah, hari ini kena bayar yuran. Ayah janji akan bagi duit”.
“Bagitau cikgu ayah akan datang petang nanti bayar”. And I left the house before any more demands could be made.

MA: As I fumbled with the wallet, Mr Policeman found a win-win situation: "Ok, macam ini. Kalau I saman, tuan kena bayar 300. Kalau bayar sini, 100 saja. Boleh?". And I looked down at my wallet. A few pathetic notes totalling RM26 peeped out. No go. I looked at the brave policeman. "Saya tada 100 tuan."And he was furtive, "Tapa, berapa ada? Bagi." And the policeman dipped his fingers into the wallet and grabbed the 2 red notes."Terima kasih", he waved me to leave. I felt the feelings rush in quick succession. Relief, shock, shame, despair, regret. And as he left, I saw the words "Saya anti-rasuah" on the round badge he proudly wore on his chest.
And it was then that I remembered what Baba said, "Never give or take a bribe".

Mr P: I lay awake all night. My hands felt filthy. My mouth was dry. Something inside me was hollow. I remembered how as I saw my child, I had to avert her eyes. The feeling of shame was overpowering. And in the evening, as I handed over the money to the wife. I could swear she was reluctant to touch the notes. And her look. I squirmed. I remembered what the Prophet (PBUH) had said: “The curse of Allah is on the giver and taker of bribes.”