Indian-origin woman Rachael Kaur, residing in Malaysia, sets another example of what barriers a mother can overcome for the sake of her children.
Kaur, an assistant manager in AirAsia’s finance operations division, in an interview with Channel News Asia, revealed that she travels 700 km every day between her commute to and from work.
She wakes up at 4:00 am every day to catch a 5:55 am flight to Kuala Lumpur and then after a full work day, takes a flight back to Penang and reaches home by 8:00 pm. Being dubbed a ‘super-commuter’ she has been following this routine since 2024 for five days a week.
Previously, Kaur had rented accommodation near her office in Kuala Lumpur and flew back to her house only once a week. This arrangement took a toll on her work-life balance as she was forced to stay away from her children. “I have two children, aged 12 and 11. As they grow, I feel the need to be present more often. With this arrangement, I’m able to return home every day and see them at night,” Kaur said in the interview.
She also says that the current arrangement also saves her money compared to what she spent in the past. Earlier, including rent and other expenses she used to spend around Rs 42,000 monthly but now using her staff discount with AirAsia her monthly expenses have come down to Rs 28,000.
Kaur also mentioned that her time spent commuting is her ‘me time’ where she takes time to reflect on her life, admire nature and listen to music. She prefers working from the office as being face-to-face with her colleagues gets work done faster. She also admits that the whole routine is tiring but the joy of seeing her kids at the end of her day melts away all the exhaustion.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Syeda Faiza Kirmani | 
