by Goh Keat Peng
There are many ways to make someone cry.
Hit her or him and cause physical and emotional pain. Break her heart by letting her down. Disappoint her. Say untruthful things about her. Being unfair and unjust to her.
Yes many ways to bring unwelcome tears. In fact it takes just one person to cause untold harm to burst the tear bank.
But in Malaysia, in a small town, just the day before yesterday, a group of young men, UNIT AMAL of Pas (Islamic Party), did something so special, something not so common, to bring floods of unstoppable tears to someone dear to me!
Here’s the story in brief. A political rally was taking place when a group of youth on motor bikes came asking for trouble to an otherwise peaceful gathering. Then one of these hecklers found himself isolated from his group and was surrounded by some rally attendees who were not humoured by his trouble rousing. Clearly, the young biker found the trouble he came to look for but found it to be much more scary then he thought it would be. Clearly, he was in a lot of serious trouble and for sure he was about to be physically dealt with.
Enter Unit Amal, another group of young men but whose presence at the rally was for the very opposite reason from the group of hecklers on bike. Unit Amal (available in various parts of the country), being well trained, well taught, well brought up religiously, well motivated, went into action. Not to corner the young heckler so that the rally attendees could change his face for him. Not to teach the young heckler a lesson that was long in coming for him. But to rescue him from some very angry people he had in the first place provoked.
The crowd was so thick and furious that the Unit Amal lads had to resort to all their logistics and strategic training and make several attempt to finally isolate the young heckler to safety!
And this story made someone to cry. Because of being reminded that others who should know better and who often speak better unfortunately often don’t do the better things which educate, inspire and make our nation great. But because primarily, Unit Amal’s timely act in a dangerous situation was a most beautiful act. An act of mercy. An act of repaying wrong with right. A risky selfless act. An act of astonishing discipline and purpose.
For that, her tears were good tears; healing tears; good for the nation tears. Amin.