Ramadan and its Quirks/Perks

It's once again Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month. It's last one month based on the Islalamic lunar calendar, meaning the exact dates and lengths vary from year to year. I arrived in Malaysia on the second day of it last year and had no idea what to expect. This year i know what to expect and can appreciate it more. The concept is that the fasting displays the devotion to ignore the demands of the body and pray to come close to Allah. Fasting persons usually wake up and gorge themselves as much as they can before 5am (or whenever the exact start time is for the fast) and then are not allowed to eat or drink anything until "berbuka puasa" (meaning the break of fast) which is usually around 7:30pm. Working on an outdoor construction site in a country with year long summer isn't the easiest situation to fast for my coworkers. I adamantly try not to eat or drink in front of anyone I know that is fasting. A former coworker used to jokingly become angry every time someone had the audacity to consume something in front of him. I've come to find out that my Bangladeshi workers (about half, along with Indonesians) are not fasting. I've routinely caught them eating or drinking on-site during the fasting hours. Although I can't blame them due to the physical demands of the job, I do wonder just how other Muslims feel about it when they see it. I remember last year my boss told me that the police can arrest you if you're Malay and get caught eating at a restaurant during fasting hours. Our workers have set up three concession stand-like shops on our site so they don't have to risk being caught and detained by the police but its still slightly risky business. Especially as much as the local authority institution DBKL (I jokingly say it stands for 'Douche Bags of Kuala Lumpur') likes to pop up and attempt to procure bribes on site. The dinners they have at 'buka puasa' are simply amazing. I've already been to one, I was disappointed I couldn't fully take advantage of the buffet because I had such a big lunch that day. But one good thing about being widely liked is that I will have more opportunities. LOL.