Having been a cobbler for a little over a decade, repairing shoes seems to be an easy task for the 58-year-old from West Sumatera, Indonesia.

But life hasn’t entirely been fair to him.

Suwardi used to own a shoe shop in Jakarta 25 years ago but was forced to close it when he ran into financial trouble.

In 2010, he decided to come to Malaysia in search of greener pastures, with hopes of rebuilding his life.

“I came to Malaysia to earn some money so I can reopen my business in Indonesia,” he told FMT.

And for almost eight years, Suwardi has been working hard at a corner of the Maybank building in Klang, a spot he has occupied since 2010.

Despite his experience selling shoes, it was a little rough at first actually repairing shoes. It did not help that the price of materials cost him a lot more than what he could earn in a day.

Customers were also very demanding, frequently asking for a discount.

“Some would ask to reduce the price despite me charging them only RM18.”

These days, he earns between RM35 and RM70 daily, depending on the number of customers.

But he feels more at peace with himself. Strangely, unlike before, his customers are now more generous.

“Some of my customers would pay me double because they value my services.

“Some would give me extra RM20 just like that,” says the friendly cobbler.