Kind act outside Columbia Hospital in Setapak, KL
Image adapted from: Ma Long
Malaysians living and working in Kuala Lumpur lead a pretty fast-paced life, so it’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of rushing from home to work, errand to errand without noticing what’s happening around us. But if we slowed down just a little to take in our surroundings, we might just find ourselves with a chance to do good in society.
And that’s what happened to an anonymous young man who stopped to help an elderly, homeless man outside of Columbia Hospital in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur on 1st December 2019.
Not-so-random act of kindness
The heart-warming act went viral after a Facebook user Ma Long shared the story in a post – which has since garnered over 1,000 reactions and 206 shares.
Ma Long, who wrote the original post in Chinese, said that he had just had breakfast with his wife at NZ Curry House, and was on the way to PV128 when he came across a group of bystanders on the sidewalk of Columbia Hospital in KL. The people were gathered around a young man, who was holding the hand of a frail and trembling elderly man in tattered clothes sitting on the ground with “a short hospital tube stuck in his throat”.
Image credit: Ma Long
He then went forward to ask the young man what was happening, and the young man recounted that he had spotted the old man when he was crossing an overhead bridge. As he had things to attend to, he started to walk past the elderly man like other pedestrians when a thought occurred to him that the old man could lose his life if he didn’t help him out.
So he dropped his other plans, and picked the old man up and carried him to nearby Columbia Hospital instead of waiting for a stretcher from the hospital to arrive.
Image credit: Ma Long
Even though the elderly man looked stick thin, and weighed about 40kg, it wasn’t an easy task to carry him all the way to the hospital. When they almost reached the steps of the hospital, they received help from another passerby who alerted the hospital staff to the situation.
3 medical staff from Columbia Hospital then recommended that the man be sent to a General Hospital, and everyone waited until an ambulance arrived 25 minutes later. The young man then again took it upon himself to lift the old man onto the stretcher even though there were paramedics on hand to help him out.
Image credit: Ma Long
After all was said and done, Ma Long spoke to the young man to ask why he took time out of his day to care for this unidentified old man. The young man then replied that the old man must already have had a hard life to reach the state he was in — elderly and unable to care for himself anymore. So the young man felt that he couldn’t turn a blind eye and leave him to suffer.
Netizens react to this humbling act caught on camera
Netizens were quick to applaud the deeds of this young man. A Facebook user asked for his name, to which Ma Long said that the young man wanted to remain anonymous, but that this shouldn’t stop us from applauding his actions.
The comment thread between a Facebook user called Miss Zhang and Ma Long can be translated as:
Miss Zhang: “Do you have a contact number for this young man?”
Ma Long: “Yes, but he wants to remain unnamed. But I found it inspirational, so I posted this story.”
Miss Zhang: “Great.”
Ma Long: “I really learned a valuable lesson from him.”
Miss Zhang: “The young man is sincere and admirable. Thanks for sharing. You are great too.”
Image credit: Ma Long
More praise was showered upon the young man in Chinese under the original post. A Facebook user named MyCar Driver commented, “This young man has such good intentions to help the elderly. This is rare. I’m so moved.” Liew Niki, another Facebook user, found her faith in humanity restored, saying, “There is love in the world”, while Kelvin Yap added, “Those who do good get good things in return”.
A commenter named Anna Choi added that, “He is kind-hearted and caring [heart emoji]. This young man is a good example for us to learn from.”
Image credit: Ma Long
Doing good goes a long way
We may never learn what the young man’s name was, but we can still admire his deeds and be reminded of how we, too, can take a few minutes out of our day to help someone in need.
With Christmas just around the corner, we can show our love and appreciation this merry season of giving by showing a kind gesture, starting as small as holding the door for someone behind you or wishing the cashier at the checkout a great day.
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