The phrase "Indonesian worker" is one said through clenched teeth and hard tones by most suburban Malaysians. Guilty or not, somehow they've been associated with break-ins, violent crime (including rape and murder of the most gruesome sort). A good deal of Malaysians rank these workers at the top of the to-be-shunned list (together with drug addicts and the wild-eyed homeless).

But last night I had the strange privilege of joining about a dozen of them on the service road in front of my apartment, all of us squatting sitting standing intensely (not unlike the pic!), watching England get knocked out of the Fifa 2006 World Cup. We laughed, groaned, shouted and elated with a common cause: the beautiful game.

I'd just come back from watching the Man of Steel return to earth (and running into Lex Luthor, cryptonite and other kinds of not-so-super things). For them, I doubt cinema is even a yearly affair, let alone a monthly one. I'd just spend RM30 on a meal at the Esquire Kitchen. RM30 is what some of them try not to finish in a week.

Likewise, none of them ordered a drink from the restaurant which 'hosted' the LCD projector and big blank wall. I doubt they could afford it (not if they planned to send any money back home). But tonight they seemed to enjoy themselves. The result was secondary, of course.

They were cheering for Portugal. Most of the other people watching were rooting for England. I was, well, "neutral" (unlike the Argentina game which left me depressed for a solid half-hour after the final Argentinian penalty miss) although I confess I was hoping the penalties wouldn't be so one-sided.

I guess I'm glad to have a chance to be 'united in football' with those whom are considered members of a "working class" in the deepest Marxist sense of the term. It may help to remember that without this class, rich KL contractors wouldn't get make the huge profits. Which in turn would inspire less development. Which in turn would rein in the economy somewhat. Which in turn, in the ironic circle of life, would mean a more difficult life for many of us wage-earners.

It's a complicated circle with possibilities for good and bad. But for now, for the sake of some semblance of social unity, viva la football.