KAMPAR : He might be leading a simple life in an Orang Asli settlement with his wife and children, but nothing can stop Sabah-born Jelson Azire from living life to the fullest.
The 38-year-old is extremely grateful with his 'moderate surroundings' at Pos Dipang, Saham near here saying although their house is not beautiful, but his family have a roof over their head and enough food to eat.
Jelson has become a viral sensation on Facebook after regularly providing videos about his modest life which he enjoys with his wife Waksan Bah Uda, 36, and their two daughters on social media.
The way Jelson appreciates and describes Waksan as 'my most beautiful wife (isteriku yang terpaling cantik) has earned the praise of netizens who admitted that for one to be happy, it is not necessarily to live a luxurious life.
Hailing from Pitas, Sabah, Jelson said he first met Waksan when they were working in Ipoh, Perak and it has been more than 13 years since they got married.
Jelson, who works as a cook in a supermarket near here, said he does not feel that culture and language differences serve as a barrier for them to be together.
"I do not feel awkward living with the Orang Asli community. Staying in the interior is nothing unusual because I live in the same surrounding area in Sabah....what is a little different is the culture and language, but it is not a problem because we use the national language (Bahasa Melayu).
"I do not feel like a stranger in my wife's village because for me, if we treat people well then we will also be given similar treatment and the people here are all good," he said when contacted by Harian Metro.
Jelson said he and his wife, who is from the Semai tribe, decided to share their lives at Pos Dipang so that the outside world will be able to see for themselves the life of the Orang Asli community which is actually the same like the others.
"I shared our activities including the way my wife prepares food and everything that is shared is about our real life but I did not expect it to gather attention, there were some who loved our simple life in the village.
"The message conveyed through our videos is to show that we do not need to live a luxurious life to appreciate our partner and the people should understand that we need to appreciate each other regardless if we are poor or rich," he said.
Meanwhile, Jelson said he appreciates the support from netizens who always gave positive comments to him and admits that he follows the principle of life which is that in order to find happiness in life one must not think about getting rich quickly.
"Everything starts from the bottom, the most important thing is having a healthy body, enough food, a job and providing education for children and I believe that I can build a more comfortable house for the family in the future," he said.
Meanwhile, Waksan said she was initially a little worried about sharing their life in the village but never expected the public to provide encouragement and support.
"The praise I received did make me a little shy. I am happy (to be accepted by netizens) and I like to share my daily cooking recipes which are actually the same as others but there are some special menus from our community," she said.