People can be total jerks, but that is no reason to lose hope in humanity.
From breaking racial stereotypes, to helping the unprivileged and homeless, this year, we have witnessed an array of aww-worthy moments. Kindness and racial harmony still exist, and social media has displayed all the proof you need.
With 2015 almost coming to an end, let’s take a look back at these social media stories which has warmth our heart and restored our faith in humanity.
1. Kiran Kreer
Soon after the floods in the east coast that left a series of devastation in the Orang Asli settlements, a photojournalist from Ipoh named Kiran Kreer began using his skills to light up the lives of those that were living without electricity through his Give Them Light solar light project. He intended to send 1,000 Nokero solar lights into 5 different villages to help over 500 families around the flood affected areas.
The solar lights can provide the families with green energy for a period of 1 to 2 years and it would save them a significant amount of expenditure when it comes to buying traditional modes of light like candles and kerosene.
2.Taxi Driver’s Kind Act
MyTeksi driver Tamil Nesan drove a passenger from Laman Ceylon to KL Sentral on March 20. Once they arrived at the destination, the passenger realised that he left his wallet at home and he didn’t have any money to pay for the fare or for travel.
Upon hearing this, Tamil Nesan offered to lend him money for the passenger’s travel and also allowed him to pay the fare once the passenger had money.
Tamil Nesan offered the passenger all the money he had on him at the point, a total of RM240 along with his phone number and told the passenger that if he decided to pay him back, he could give him a call.
The unnamed passenger quickly reported the act of kindness to MyTeksi, and MyTeksi rewarded the taxi driver with a watch and he also received praise and adoration from netizens.
3. Uncle Ah San
Netizen Shirin Aziha Shahidan collaborated with activist Syed Azmi Alhabshi to help out her elderly neighbour, Uncle Ah San, who has been suffering from elephantiasis (elephant leg disease). They both were able to raise RM8,000 within 24 hours, with donations flowing in from kind netizens from Malaysia, Singapore, India,and other countries.
The funds were used to purchase essential items like a bed with lifting support and remote control, a commode chair, a private nurse for Lim’s daily wound-dressing, a part-time maid, groceries and medications for the dressing.
4. TRP Cares
Soon after The Rakyat Post featured the Foo family under their company’s social responsibility, thousands of people offered financial aid and also words of encouragement to keep the family going. Parents Foo Kong Yoon and Meh Siew Gaik took on the immense responsibility of caring for their two kids that were born with glaucoma that could leave them with a potential case of permanent blindness if left untreated.
After being featured on The Rakyat Post, the family received numerous phone calls from people that encouraged them, and also to let them know that money has been banked into their accounts for the children’s expenses. Others even offered to come meet them personally to offer their help.
4. Reza Samsuddin
Reza Samsuddin came into the limelight after pictures of him riding on a motorbike with his sons went viral on social media. Along with two luggages, Reza and three of his sons were sitting on a Honda EX5 motorcycle as they began their journey en route from Sepang to Batu Maung, Penang—a 400km journey that would take them more than 16 hours. According to an interview, many drivers were offering the family a ride in their car. However Reza turned down their help and said this is a test from God.
A businessman (who wanted to remain anonymous) was touched by Reza’s dedication and modesty and decided to donate a Proton Iswara to Reza, and it took him 2 hours to persuade Reza to receive the car. In thanking Malaysians for their kindness, Ahmad Reza was quoted as saying, “Jika saya temui insan lain yang lebih susah, mungkin ketika itu tiba pula giliran saya menyerahkan kereta ini kepadanya.”
Reza thanked Malaysians for their prayers and help, and his humility and perseverance warmed the hearts of netizens.
5. A Chinese Samaritan
Wan Nadiah’s Facebook status update went viral when she shared the story of how a Chinese man helped her to change her car rear tire.
A Chinese man, by the name Boon, knocked on her car window and told her that her car rear tire has gone flat. Then he proceeded to help her to change her flat tire Boon drove his car, and stopped in front of Nadiah’s car to help her to changed the flat tire for her. This story has warmed the hearts of netizens who saw the story on Nadiah’s Facebook page.
“You see, not all Malays are pemalas and not all Chinese are penipu. Penipu pemalas penjahat all are just bad people, let’s not put a race/religion label on them,” she said.
6. Ninjas Invade Kuching
A five-minute clip entitled, “Ninjas Strike Kuching, Sarawak! #NinjaLove” began making rounds on social media after being uploaded to YouTube. The video features the act of four ninjas approaching members of the public and handing them with roses.
Chai Lee Lee was responsible for the initiative and she told The Rakyat Post, “Normally roses are gifts given by couples on Valentine’s Day, roses represents love and wanted to spread that message of love and share it with the world.’
Through the project, they handed out a total of 120 roses to members of the public. The group paid for the roses by themselves and they wanted to show the world that there was still a glimmer of hope and love all around. Their selfless act garnered much support from netizens who praised them for their actions.
7. Lan Pet Pet’s Selfless Act
Mazlan Ahmad, a former Senario comedy group member and fondly known as Lan Pet Pet, ran across to the opposite side of the road without regard to his own life to save an accident victim. A person who witnessed the brave act quickly uploaded a Facebook picture of the comedian running through traffic to help the victim.
8. Sharul Nizal Abdul Rahim
One wouldn’t usually see a Muslim handling a dog, but that’s exactly what Sharul Nizal Abdul Rahim did. Sharul, who is also known as Abang Kucing, saw a puppy who was tied to a vehicle’s back tire and left alone for quite some time. Being worried, he did what he felt was necessary and rescued it.
Besides being an animal lover himself, he is also the president of Pertubuhan Pasukan Tindakan Haiwan (AAT), where he and the team fight for the animals’ rights and protect them from harm, including dogs, pigs and even endangered animals. According to Sharul on his Facebook page, dogs are one of their primary focus because dogs are seen as the most discriminated animal in an Islamic country like Malaysia.
It’s definitely heartwarming to see how Sharul fights for the minority and gives them a fighting chance in the country.
9. Sathisvaran Santhian
A media student called Sathisvaran Santhian conducted a social experiment to attempt to show others that regardless of racial background, we are all Malaysian first before anything else.
The social experiement was carried out by three young men, Sathisvaran Santhian, Choo Jian Tatt and Muhd Shukri Rahmad who were blindfolded and had placards saying “I’M MALAYSIAN FIRST!” and asked strangers to give them a hug or a high five.
The main goal of this experiment is to bring awareness to identifying all Malaysians as Malaysians first, then only the race. The experiment was a successful one, as the hashtag of the experirement, #SayaBangsaMalaysia, went viral. Besides that, the campaign has received positive comments from netizens and passers-by.
10. Pak Cik Jamil
Kindness Malaysia gave Pak Cik Jamil a gift he will never forget. Pak Cik Jamil had a wife and child but they abandoned him and he has been living in the streets of Chow Kit for the past few years. Kindness Malaysia reached out to him and with several volunteers, they gave him clothes, footwear, food, medicine, toiletries, and a haircut.
When the volunteers took Pakcik Jamil out for the day, he chose smaller outlets to get the outfits and said that one change alone would be enough, despite being offered five pieces of clothing. He also chose a small eatery stall to grab something to eat and was delighted when he was brought sightseeing around Kuala Lumpur, as he has not sat in a car for more than a decade.
We might not be able to do the same for every homeless person on our own, but if every one of us did our part for just one homeless person, that itself would make a difference.
11. Be Malas
The personal concierge startup Be Malas collaborated with Teach For Malaysia to raise RM15,000 to help a public school at Sungai Petani, Kedah called SMK Pinang Tunggal. The funds collected will be used to refurbish the school’s English room.
12. Stanley Yeong
Stanley Yeong’s Facebook status post went viral after he revealed the story of how his handy man and wife passed away in a road accident. Following that he fostered their daughter, Hayati, as she was left without the care of her parents.
When Hayati turned 12, she had troubles obtaining a Malaysian identity card because her birth parents never registered her at birth. But eventually with the help of Stanley and a senior police officer, she was able to register for a IC. As a result, her story has been filled with kind people who have helped her along her life and she is now married and runs a food business with her in-laws.
Stanley who grew up as an orphan in an orphanage as he lost his own parents when he was young. His encounter perhaps caused him to have compassion on Hayati. Sometimes it is our own experiences that causes us to feel compassion and empathy towards us, so don’t curse your troubles and hardships, it could be for something good in the bigger picture.
13. Malaysian Volunteer Cooking For Syrian Refugees
While many continue to turn a blind eye towards the plight of Syrian refugees, this 25-year-old Malaysian named Rayyan Haries from Subang Jaya travelled all the way to Skala Sikaminea, Lesbos, Greece to feed up to 2,000-4,000 Syrian refugees a day.
In an interview with Mashable, he said, “I flew all the way from Malaysia to open a kitchen here for the refugees. These people have gone through the extreme. You know, it doesn’t take much to feed a person, I just want to cook for people.”
Rayyan Haries strongly holds that food is indeed hope and he cooks up Middle Eastern food and serves tea. At times, he even cooks up dishes with a Malaysian edge. His kitchen is based 50 meters away from the rough Aegean Sea that’s known for claiming numerous lives of refugees.
Since his kitchen isn’t equipped to operate during the winter, he created a video to ask Ellen Degeneres for her help. The video has received over 40,000 views and quite a number of people has donated to his cause.
14. The Teddy Bear Doctor
Dr. Shanmugam Madhusudhan, fondly known as the ‘Teddy Bear Doctor’, heads out to streets of Kuala Lumpur every Saturday to provide medical care to the homeless and to others who don’t have the finances to afford healthcare. The cost for medication and treatment along with hospital admissions are covered by the NGO Kechara Soup Kitchen, and donations from other places is used to fund the ambulance and medical equipment.
Renowned for his kindness and patience, the doctor doesn’t mind working late into the night if he needs to attend to emergency cases. He finds the work that he does on the streets to be meaningful.
15. Building Mobile Showers For Homeless People
Given that there are thousands of homeless people in KL who don’t have access to basic amenities, a man known as Uncle Bugs decided to build them a mobile shower. After a night out with his friends, he realised how fortunate he was and felt an innate responsibility to do something for the homeless.
He wrote on his blog, “I thought I should do my part too. There are already a few NGOs providing food for them. I’ve also seen a group that provides haircuts. So as you can see many people have come forward to help.”
In order to do something different for them, he created a mobile shower that takes about 10 minutes to assemble. The shower is equipped with a detachable lower and upper frame that’s joined together using 4 pieces of adjustable broomsticks. It’s also equipped with a water pump that delivers about 60 litres of water through the showerhead.
