In the midst of the negative stories streaming from the media about the state of things in Malaysia today, I'd like to share a personal story which highlights the goodness that we are all capable of.

Last week a relative of mine was involved in a serious car accident in Johor Baru after returning from work in Singapore in the early morning hours. Although my relative had sustained life- threatening internal injuries, he remained conscious.

A couple of Malay teenagers passed by the accident scene and pulled my relative out of the car (bearing a Singapore number plate) which was a complete write-off. Afterwards, my relative had asked them to keep his (Malaysian) passport, wallet and mobile phone for him while they took him to a hospital in Singapore.

True to their word, the three items were with my relative when he regained consciousness after receiving an emergency operation. When we inspected the car at the police impound later, all his other belongings in it had been stolen, presumably by other passers-by.

The reason I mentioned the Singapore registration plate is the fact that there is not much love lost between our two nations. The two youngsters could have just as easily assumed that here was another Singaporean, some of whom are well-known for their speeding habits on Malaysian roads and therefore did not deserve their help.

Later, the attending surgeon informed us that our relative would have died had he received the medical aid any later than he had. So those two young men had indeed saved his life. To top it off, my relative is the proud father of a one-year old child and the sole breadwinner for his new family. His death would have been a double tragedy.

While our family would like to personally thank these two youngsters, it is unfortunate they did not leave a contact name and we will never know who they are. However, we would like to acknowledge their good deed publicly.

It is heartening to know that despite all the negative stereotypes portrayed of our Malay youth, here were a couple of young men who saw a person in desperate need and proceeded to provide assistance without hearkening to colour or creed despite our government's constant harping on 'bangsa dan ugama'.

It is our family's prayer that God will bless these two gentlemen and their families many times over for their act of kindness and compassion. It is at times like these when we should be proud to call ourselves 'Malaysian'.

Now if only our political and religious leaders can learn from these two good Samaritans...


Letter: A true blue Malaysia Boleh story (I)