A simple trip to buy breakfast turned into a heartwarming encounter for a Malaysian woman, after she unexpectedly became the recipient of a random act of kindness.
In a post shared on Facebook, the woman recounted her experience at a nasi lemak stall near her shop earlier today.
‘Someone already paid for you’
She had bought six packets of nasi lemak, each priced at RM1.50, from a friendly Malay vendor. However, when it was time to pay, the vendor surprised her with an unexpected gesture.
He told me someone had already paid for it earlier — paying it forward,” she wrote.
“I was stunned for a moment. I’ve always known about such acts of kindness, but I never thought I’d experience it myself.”
The small but meaningful gesture left her feeling deeply touched. Describing the moment as “sweet,” she said it reminded her of the good that still exists in everyday life.
Keep the kindness going
Not wanting to take the food for free, she insisted on paying — and even gave a little extra. “I told the abang, let’s continue to do good and help those who need it.”
Speaking to Sin Chew Daily, the vendor named Fazli shared that pay-it-forward gestures happen quite regularly at his stall.
I’ve been operating here for over a year, and every month there will be one or two customers who leave RM10 or RM20 to pay for the next person’s meal,” he said.
Fazli noted that many Malay customers, in particular, would do this on Fridays as a form of goodwill. Some even offer to pay for other customers on the spot.
According to him, those who receive the free meals often choose to continue the chain by paying for the next person, passing on the kindness one after another.
Netizens’ reaction
The post quickly went viral on Facebook and attracted many netizens to share their thoughts. While many praised the initiative, some also pointed out that the hawker’s honesty played a key role in making the pay-it-forward movement possible.
‘So the earlier customer paid for the person who came after? Sounds great! Definitely worth promoting .’
‘First of all, the vendor needs to be honest… otherwise, we won’t see acts like this anymore in the future.’
‘You can also pay for a few portions without taking any nasi lemak. I used to do that when I had the money.’
