Top 11 Excuses Malaysians Give When They’re Running Late

We all have that one friend who’s never on time but always has an excuse for being late. Sometimes, we are that friend. As Malaysians, we’ve all been late to gatherings, or mamak sessions, or even to class, at least once in our lives. In fact, we’ve all grown so accustomed to this “Malaysian timing” that almost no Malaysian is ever early—let alone on time—to anything, ever. Even wedding dinners in Malaysia don’t start on time.

Even so, we somehow manage to come up with an excuse every single time we know we’re going to be late. Don’t pretend like you don’t know what we’re talking about—you know!

Some of these infamous excuses include:

1. “No parking”

Most of the time, looking for parking is indeed an issue. But how many times have you made this excuse while you were still on the way and weren’t even close to the destination yet? We know we’re already late but we try to make it seem like we were actually on time, “but no parking lah”.

2. “Very jam, got accident”

Being Malaysians, we feel the need to know what happened at the scene of the accident so we slow down to stare and cause a massive crawl. This happens all too often on Malaysian roads. So much so that we make it an excuse even when there is no accident and the roads are completely empty.

3. “My father/ mother/ brother/ sister/ cousin needed my help to do something”

It’s the best excuse! I mean, no one can ever get mad at you for helping out a family member right?

4. Blame it on the app!

You probably hadn’t even searched the location on Waze yet.

5. “It’s raining at my place, can’t get to my car”

It’s completely normal in Malaysia for it to be pouring one minute, then scorching hot the next. Sometimes, it can even be pouring wherever you are and completely dry and sunny a few kilometres away, making this another perfect excuse.

6. “Stomach ache”

It wasn’t a stomach ache, was it? You just woke up late and went into the bathroom late.

7. “I need to fetch (insert name) to (insert place) first”

Your friends can’t possibly get upset at you for fetching someone, and if you turn up really late, it’s technically not your fault since your passenger needed a ride and it would be rude to turn him or her down.

 
8. “Class/work/meeting ended late”

Padahal, you got home an hour ago.

9. “My alarm didn’t ring”

10. The classic “Reaching in five minutes”

When in actual fact you haven’t even left your house yet!

We’ve all used these excuses before, or have been the victims of these infamous lines thanks to our Malaysian timing. So, instead of putting yourself through all that hassle of driving and getting stuck in traffic, why not just book a Grab.

Grab is going to MAKE SURE you get to your next destination. Plus, you get RM8 off your next ride if you aren’t able to book a Grab at selected areas!

Check out which locations are applicable for the 100% Ride Guarantee promo here.

Now you can use another infamous excuse:

11. “My Grab is late/lost”

Plus, here’s an extra treat!

Promo: SureGrab (RM8 off x 8 rides)
Period: 8th June – 12th June (except 6am-9am; 6pm-9pm)

It’s no longer your fault you didn’t get out of your house earlier to avoid traffic or find parking when you divert the blame to Grab instead. They’ve got your back 😉

Everybody wins! Sort of.