On February 3, netizen Aida Aidil posted a Twitter thread about an 80-year-old Malay coconut vendor, which has garnered 450k views and 18.3k retweet within two days.
Bila aku tengok pakcik ni aku terbayang tokki aku dulu lebih kurang mcm ni la. Abah aku pun kalau dah umur mcm ni mungkin mcm ni juga susuk dia. Aku jarang balik kampung bila balik nampak sgt perubahan parents aku. pic.twitter.com/EvgrZ3thDJ— A I D A . A I D I L (@AidaAidil) February 3, 2021
The original twitter thread has been taken down by the owner
“How you take care of your parents now will decide how your kids would take care of you in the future.” She wrote in her tweet.
In the video, she wrote that she finally had time to revisit the vendor and to give him some donations from generous netizens as she was busy and avoided going out due to MCO.
Aida also mentioned that she had made the vendor a banner so that his stall would be noticeable. However, she wasn’t able to install it as the old vendor had finished selling his goods for the day and wanted to go home.
“I think it is quite sad to see him working in the rain. He even asked me to stay in the car for my order, but I insisted on coming out to take it myself,” she wrote in the video.
Bila aku tengok pakcik ni aku terbayang tokki aku dulu lebih kurang mcm ni la. Abah aku pun kalau dah umur mcm ni mungkin mcm ni juga susuk dia. Aku jarang balik kampung bila balik nampak sgt perubahan parents aku. pic.twitter.com/EvgrZ3thDJ— A I D A . A I D I L (@AidaAidil) February 3, 2021
The original twitter thread has been taken down by the owner
In the second video, she wrote a caption saying that although she wasn’t familiar with the vendor at first, she still loved approaching people like him and tried to help out in any possible way.
“He reminded me of my grandfather, whom my siblings and I used to play around with by asking him to take out his false teeth. However, we would never ask them to come out and work like this.”
A designer by profession, Aida said she had tried her best to help the vendor with his business’ marketability. She also mentioned that the contribution wasn’t a solo effort as another friend had joined in too.
In the last two videos, Aida gave the money to the vendor and told him that this came from the netizen who had watched her video. She also hoped that the old vendor will always be safe and healthy.
Part yang aku paling tak boleh nak hadap ? pic.twitter.com/Zk40Is0tyV— A I D A . A I D I L (@AidaAidil) February 3, 2021
The original twitter thread has been taken down by the owner
She posted a subsequent tweet to clarify that the whole story was not meant to be directed towards anyone, including the vendor’s family and children. Instead, she urged people to focus on helping the vendor instead trying to find out about his family’s details.
So guys please! Can we like focus on the pakcik?! THE MAIN REASON!. Never about family dia pun. Esh. Tak!kalau nak tolong orang kena eh check sampai mcm tu sekali. Aku tau n nampak dia susah kita hulur nak bg dia happy. Sapa untung? PAKCIK TU WEH BUKAN AKU! MARKETING FREE!
— A I D A . A I D I L (@AidaAidil) February 4, 2021
This sentiment was shared by many netizens who retweeted the thread. One of them, Hafiz, said that those who insist on a full lockdown failed to think about those who depend on a daily income to survive and called for more compassion to be showed.
Some of my friends said
— H A F I Z (@_hafizaizat) February 4, 2021
“Better fully lockdown pkp”
“setiap org ada struggle dia sendiri”
Maklumat tambahan : saving dia more than 10k
For me?? You guys can see this pakcik
Dah tau hidup pakcik ni cukup2 makan je. ? kalau fully lockdown? Macam mana? Jadi manusia jgn buta hati https://t.co/SnHnFpUHet
What do you think about the story of this coconut vendor? Tell us in the comment section!
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Source: @AidaAidil
Editor: Raymond Chen
Proofreader: Sarah Yeoh
