This picture shows Roy, an old mate from my New Guinea days who has since retired in Malaysia, lounging rejectedly under a sign that reads, "Tawaran hari ini" (or "Offer of the day" for those who don't speak Bahasa Malaysia) outside the entrance to a large department store in Kuala Lumpur.
For those of you who have never been to Malaysia, let me explain: in order to attract female shoppers, department stores in Kuala Lumpur provide comfortable sofas outside their main entrance where desperate housewives may leave their unwanted husbands while they go shopping.
It's an arrangement that seems to benefit both parties: the longer the desperate housewife stays in the shop, the more the shop sells; and the longer the husband sits under the sign, the greater the chances that an even more desperate housewife may take up the "Offer of the day".
I am told - although there is no mention of it on the sign - that some department stores even offer free gift-wrapping. Mind you, Roy's missus already increased her chances by having told him to keep his mask on.
