Accountant Gives Up His High-Paying MNC Job To Find Happiness Frying Chicken

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At 32, a Malaysian man walked away from a well-paid multinational job, traded his suit and tie for a small stall, and started selling fried chicken in his hometown

"I'm not rich, but I've reclaimed my life," he confessed.

For years, he measured success in numbers: grades, salaries, and promotions.

He majored in accounting, scored top marks, and landed a starting salary of RM4,500, nearly double what most graduates earned at the time.

But the reality was draining.

"Stuck in traffic every day, scolded by the boss over small matters until I had no dignity left, having to watch clients' moods, and bringing work home on weekends. Gradually, I couldn't even recognise myself," he wrote, adding that even his mother noticed his declining health.

The turning point came after a colleague's offhand remark:

"You studied so much, but in the end, you're still just doing accounts for others."

His colleague's sarcastic remark, he said, was like a slap in the face, pulling him back to reality

He recalled that what truly made him happy was helping his father fry chicken at the night market when he was a child.

The scent of oil filling the air and the crackling from the wok felt more like "life" than the cold, sterile environment of the office.

He eventually quit his high-paying job and returned to his hometown to sell fried chicken.

"I was very scared. Scared of failure, scared of embarrassing my parents, scared of people gossiping."

Yet he still mustered the courage, rented a small stall, and started selling fried chicken

He admitted that the early days of the business were extremely tough.

If the chicken didn't sell out, he had to eat it himself; the city council came to check his signboard; on rainy days, there were almost no customers; he even got blisters on his hands from oil burns. But he persevered.

"Gradually, business started to improve, and there were more and more returning customers," he said, adding, "Now, even the smell of frying oil feels fragrant to me."

Today, he earns a modest income, but he feels liberated

"I don't need to squeeze into the MRT, don't need to watch my boss's mood, don't need to fake-smile in meetings. My office is the kopitiam, and my colleagues are my customers."

And while some classmates poke fun at him, saying, "You went to university only to end up selling chicken, isn't it a waste?" he said he just smiles.

"I used to count other people's money. Now I count my own. I'm not useless. I just took my life back. My time, my mood, my life, they're no longer controlled by a monthly paycheck. I'm not rich, but I've reclaimed my life."

In a society where success is often measured by paychecks and titles, his story struck a chord with countless netizens

Many people saw their own lives reflected in his; some even shared how they, too, walked away from "dream jobs" that almost broke them.

One former internal auditor said he once earned a five-figure salary, but it came with 9pm nights, weekend work, and the kind of stress that literally damaged his heart before he hit 30. Now he teaches for a modest income, heads home at 5pm, and finally feels human again.

Others admitted they took a similar leap in quieter ways.

A Big Four employee who swapped audit hours for a government post, choosing low pay over constant pressure; another who left the corporate games entirely because the politics and the backstabbing drained them more than the work itself.

Of course, not everyone romanticised the move.

A few pointed out that F&B is punishing and physically demanding, and that what worked for him may not work for everyone.