Super commuter mom flies 700 km daily, saves money, stays close to family
Kuala Lumpur: Indian origin Racheal Kaur, who lives in Malaysia's Penang, an assistant manager at AirAsia in Malaysia and a mother of two, has found an unconventional way to balance work and family while saving money, reports Times of India.
Instead of renting a costly apartment in Kuala Lumpur near her office, she flies every day from her home in Penang to Kuala Lumpur, covering a total of about 700 km round-trip. This unique arrangement has helped her cut monthly expenses from around Rs 41,000 to Rs 27,000.
Kaur in an interview to Channel News Asia, revealed that she starts her day early by waking up at 4 am and leaving home at 5 am to catch her flight from Penang Airport. She lands in Kuala Lumpur by 6:30 am and reaches her office by 7:45 am, where she works until 8 pm. Despite the long journey, she enjoys some "me time" during her flights, listening to music and taking in the scenery.
This daily commute not only allows Kaur to be fully dedicated to her job when at work but also lets her return home every evening to spend quality time with her children, aged 12 and 11. “With this arrangement, I’m able to go home every day and see them at night,” she shared. Her employer, AirAsia, has been very supportive of her schedule, making it possible for her to maintain this routine without compromising her professional responsibilities.
While some might find her routine extreme, calling it ‘crazy,’ Kaur sees it as the perfect solution for managing her work-life balance, combining the demands of a busy job with the joys of family life, all while saving money.
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Health minister Wes Streeting's resignation piles pressure on UK PM Starmer
London (PTI): UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting resigned from the Cabinet on Thursday, declaring that he had lost confidence in the leadership of Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
As a frontrunner to replace Starmer at 10 Downing Street, Streeting is expected to launch his bid to be elected Labour leader if he can secure the backing of the party's requisite 81 members of Parliament.
It piles further pressure on Starmer, who has been attempting to quell an internal rebellion over the devastating results for the governing party in last week’s local elections.
“It is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election and that Labour MPs and Labour unions want the debate about what comes next to be a battle of ideas, not of personalities or petty factionalism," Streeting said in his resignation letter addressed to Starmer.
“It needs to be broad, and it needs to be the best possible field of candidates. I support that approach and I hope you will facilitate it,” he said.
The former minister accused his boss of lacking any vision and overseeing a power “vacuum” and also went on to highlight his own record of leading the Department for Health and Social Care and state-funded National Health Service (NHS).
Streeting added: “The National Health Service is the embodiment of all that is best about Britain and our values. Thanks to our Labour government, it is on the road to recovery: lots done, but so much more to do.
“These are all good reasons for me to remain in post, but as you know from our conversation earlier this week, having lost confidence in your leadership, I have concluded that it would be dishonourable and unprincipled to do so.”
His words are being interpreted as paving the way for a Labour leadership contest, with former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband among his other expected rivals.
While some indications are that this process may not be triggered any time soon, Starmer's future as Labour leader is looking extremely tenuous if the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) gets involved in a formal election process.
Meanwhile, Rayner issued a statement earlier to confirm that she had been cleared by the UK tax authorities of any wrongdoing over her financial affairs that had forced her to step down from the Cabinet last year.
"I took reasonable care and acted in good faith, based on the expert advice I received, and HMRC [His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs] has accepted this," she said.
This is seen as her declaring her intention to be ready to join the fray, should a Labour leadership election be launched.
The latest turmoil at the top of the British government comes after a series of junior ministerial resignations, with Starmer staying the course by announcing their replacements. Earlier his ally, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, cautioned her colleagues to refrain from plunging the country into chaos and putting the UK’s economic recovery at risk.
“We shouldn’t put that at risk by plunging the country into chaos at a time when there is conflict in the world, but also at a time when our plan to grow the economy is starting to bear fruit," she said.
However, the deep divisions within the Labour Party ranks are only expected to escalate further in the coming days and weeks.
