Yesterday evening (11 April), the Johor Crown Prince who’s better known as Tengku Mahkota Johor (TMJ), almost broke Aeon Tebrau when he made a surprise announcement to the shoppers there. He said,
“Whatever groceries you buy in the hypermarket today, I will pay for it!”
Shoppers went berserk and started grabbing anything and everything to fill up their trolleys. Each shopper was given a limit of RM3,000 for their groceries, and they were extremely thankful to TMJ for the rezeki.
Everyone in the hypermarket was smiling from ear to ear as they were given the liberty to buy stuff that they wouldn’t normally buy. It was reported that TMJ left the hypermarket at around 8pm after footing the bill of over RM1 million in total!
TMJ also expressed his love for the rakyat on his Facebook post with many netizens who replied, “Daulat Tuanku!”
However, a picture went viral this morning on Twitter showing the aftermath of the shopping spree last night. Apparently, shoppers had abandoned their trolleys after they couldn’t make it through the cashiers.
Items that needed to be refrigerated such as ice cream, milk, frozen food, and yogurt were sitting in the trolleys while a bottle of Coke and a tub of ice cream were spilt on the floor. Not a pretty sight at all!
The netizen who uploaded this image said,
“I’m genuinely sad because there are so many families, not just in Johor, that are in need of help because they are really poor. If we want to help those who are poor, we should do it the best way.”
“My point is – the amount of money could have helped thousands of really needy families.”
Other netizens also criticised the shoppers for being greedy as they filled up the trolleys with unnecessary items instead of basic necessities such as rice, sugar and cooking oil.
Based on the comments on Twitter, apparently the management of Aeon had requested all the shoppers to leave everything as it is and exit once the budget set by TMJ has been reached.
Another netizen also shared some images of Aeon Tebrau’s aftermath on Facebook, and they ain’t pretty!
Understandably, TMJ’s intention is noble and he only wanted to make his rakyat happy. Also, he did foot the bill using his own money, right?
Do you think there’s a better way for TMJ to show his love for the people? Leave your thoughts in the comment section!
Also read: TMJ Just Spent Over RM1 Million to Pay for People’s Groceries in Aeon Tebrau