There’s nothing more heartwarming than seeing fellow Malaysians coming together for their nation. Recent news about the RM1 trillion debt that our country is facing was definitely a shock to many of us as we didn’t expect it to reach such an amount.
Source: Go Get Funding
Nik Shazarina Bakti, who is a legal officer at Sisters in Islam (SIS) and a 27-year-old law graduate loves Malaysia a lot and is very proud of her country. Hence, she decided to do something to help save the country by rallying Malaysians together. She has since started a crowdfunding page to raise funds in order to help reduce the nation’s staggering federal government debt.
“I hope to gather Malaysians and also the rest of the world to help contribute towards reducing Malaysia’s debt,” she writes. She also reminded Malaysians that there was a time when the rakyat did the same, by uniting to donate jewellery, money and valuables to Tunku Abdul Rahman and the government so that they could go to London and claim for independence.
Source: Tourism Malaysia
“Let’s do it again! And this time, WE are doing it! We can tell our children and grandchildren of this initiative that we all took part in to save Negaraku Malaysia,” she urges.
The goal she has set on the page, Please Help Malaysia, is US$100, 000 (RM398,000) and currently, there are 92 backers who have raised US$3,633 (RM13,437) so far. The crowdfunding will be ongoing until July 31 and she assures that the process will be transparent. All proceeds will be channelled to the Government and she will upload proof that she has passed the money over to them.
Source: The Times
“If we could work together during the 14th General Election (remember we trusted anyone who could help us?), I am sure we can work together for another round,” she added. One of her supporters is Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, the daughter of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who said that she is proud of Nik Shazarina for taking the effort.
Marina wrote on her Facebook page, “So many very sweet and caring people have approached me to do something but I really am reluctant because I don’t think it’s appropriate. But this young person has taken her own initiative to do something by crowdfunding to save Malaysia. I happen to know her and am so proud of her. So if you can help, do support. Every little bit helps.”
Source: The Sun Daily
Maria Chin Abdullah, who is the MP for Petaling Jaya Selatan also pledged her support for the crowdfunding and said that Nik Shazarina has contacted her to help deliver the proceeds to the Ministry of Finance.
She wrote on Instagram, “Although we may disagree about having to use even more of the Rakyat’s money to settle the debt, we cannot deny that the debt is still there and is a huge threat to all of us. I support her initiative because something has to be done so that we can get back up on our feet.”
Source: Instagram
Many people were supportive of the initiative and pledged to donate to the cause but some of them were slightly skeptical as they preferred to donate their money to an official page.
Of course, before you donate to any cause, make sure that your funds are going to the right place!
Also read: M’sian Writes Heartwarming Letter to Govt & Donates RM100 to Repay National Debt
