Last year, we were hit by one of the worst massive floods Malaysia has experienced for the longest time in the history of floods. We are not a stranger to expecting and knowing how the climate can be in our tropical country, as well as the disastrous impact the force of natural disasters can be on us.
To be fair, Malaysians have a history of being many things – having a witty sense of humour that we have our own ‘spicy, rempah level’ kind of humour, our generosity almost knows no bounds, we address each other like family even though we are not blood-related but anyone can be your sister, big sister, big brother or even your uncle who just lives next door.
One thing for sure though is that even though we still have a long way to go when it comes to improving our social bonds and at times having it difficult to put our differences aside when it comes to politics and religion among other crucial aspects of our daily lives, the Malaysian community as a whole have never given up on the kindred and kind spirit to come together to help one another.
In which we coin the term and proudly the spirit of #kitajgakita. In translation, it means ‘We take care of each other‘, and in its Malay term for it, it’s a short and sweet simple reminder that we support each other. The meaning goes a little deeper with its roots and branches of how it got to where it is, this is not the first time KitaJagaKita has been used for awareness when it comes to giving, being given aid and paying it forward.
In June of 2021 last year, the movement of the #BenderaPutih, translated to ‘The White Flag’ is a movement to call for Malaysians to put up a white flag to indicate a need for assistance ranging from financial, food to essentials. Although in reality and much honesty, I have some qualms in regards to how this was handled by various parties but I will not deny the majority that really goes the extra mile to reach out to those in need and have been genuine through and through.
So it’s not too much a surprise and it warms the heart to know that we do have strong compassion and kindness for our community and when we put our minds, hearts and souls into it, our generosity and selfless act of kindness makes a lot of difference.
But with all that being said, just like how being human is like having two sides of a coin, while we can be kind and warm, a lot of us tend to forget when we treat others unkindly, forget that there are people with their stories of misfortune and struggles and at times (or most, really), we behave and act as if like we are entitled to be treated like we are above everyone else.
That also includes sometimes really forgetting the various kind of communities we’re helping and rather than actually understanding and asking about their needs, we do not heed to them nor listen to what they need.
The ones that do put in that kind of effort and the ones that have been working on the field for so long that knows best on how to help these minor communities then get bad to surface level judgement. It goes bad enough to the point people do not start realizing that rather than taking a step back to understand the struggles of maintaining community effort to help the community, they end up bashing and tossing out unsolicited criticism.
Now, the thing is, perhaps we forget that just like any natural disaster, life does have a way of hitting each one of us differently – there are some of us privileged enough to survive beyond our means because as privilege goes, we can afford it.
However, there are some of us who just really cannot afford it. Even until now, it’s still hard for a lot of people to grasp what poverty is and it’s not just being unable to afford an RM5 cup of coffee or skipping to wash laundry for a week because one cannot afford to buy detergent – it’s complicated.
But even when it is complicated, it’s okay to not understand but it’s always good to ask ourselves that if we choose not to understand it and if that’s okay, then is it okay for us to judge others just because we can?
If we can avoid being mean, why not do that? Simple, because we can.
If we can choose to have the options given to us in expressing our appreciation, our love to our loved ones during this time of crisis including making the effort to spend Valentine’s Day, then we have a choice given to us in expressing kindness to the people who have been doing keeping up with their effort in all kinds of community effort.
It can be the front-liners who are the many human beings we somehow forget that have been working tirelessly in ensuring that the community stays safe and not pissed off.
It can be the NGOs and the volunteers (in which let this be a reminder, volunteering means unpaid) that are making sure to maintain continuous effort into assisting the communities.
So here are some reminders:
- Learn to be kind.
- Check your ego
- Be aware of your intentions and reflect on your voice of reason
- Understand and empathize
- Be gentle when you can.
- If you have to choose, choose to be kind.
As human beings, we are of course not born and built to be perfect – in fact, it’s because we are imperfect beings that it is also one of the beauties of being human, we are constantly trying to improve ourselves, relearn and learn new ways to be better and to be better to others.
In the spirit of that learning and to better ourselves, here’s to hoping for more continuous effort in trying to be as kind as we can be and appreciate the people who keep our community flourished, sustained and for us to prosper together.
Jasmine RCK is a content writer under Headliner by Newswav, a programme where content creators get to tell their unique stories through articles and at the same time monetize their content within the Newswav app.
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