“Bendera Putih” Movement Going Viral As Malaysians Try To Reach To Those In Need
Malaysians start an initiative to help their neighbours who are in dire straits.
Subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest stories and updates.
White flags are flooding social media as a movement is brewing right now with the mission to help Malaysians who are in need of assistance.
Symbolised as a call for help for those who wish to receive assistance can hoist a white flag, indicating to those living around the area that the household is in need of aid.
It has gained traction amongst netizens as at the time of writing, it is one of the top trending topics on Twitter with more than 10,000 tweets so far.
Kepada semua yang susah dan tiada makanan, naikkan bendera putih 🏳️ di kediaman anda.
— Hafizol Hakami (@HafizolHakami) June 28, 2021
Biar orang sekeliling pakat bantu sedikit sebanyak yang termampu.
Tolong jangan ambil tindakan yang meremukkan hati orang yang tersayang.
Tak perlu merayu, tak perlu malu. Kibar saja bendera pic.twitter.com/BGy7muxcMc
Malaysians being pressured more than ever before
Ever since the pandemic began, the livelihood of a lot of Malaysians were devastated as many were laid off with the government imposing limitations on businesses in an effort to contain infections.
It’s reported by NST that in January 2020, the unemployment rate was at 3.2% but it reached 5.3% in May 2020.
READ MORE: 300,000 Mall Employees Lost Their Jobs In The Past 16 Months, Mall, Retail Associations Say
It has not only affected the pockets, but also the psyche of Malaysians as well as it’s reported that 266 people took their lives between 18 March and 30 October of last year.
Politicians divided over the initiative
After the movement went viral, politicians were quick to jump on the bandwagon with Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin showing her support on social media.
However, Malaysians were not too happy with the tweet as they view that Zuraida was trying to make the issue political and criticised the Minister for not doing her job.
Admin | Saya bersama dalam kempen #benderaputih ini bagi mengenal pasti mereka yang memerlukan bantuan. Tak perlu merayu, tak perlu malu. Kibar saja bendera.🏳️#KempenBenderaPutih#PEMULIH#ActionBeyondPolitics pic.twitter.com/L3UP1rTYYf
— Zuraida Kamaruddin (@zuraida_my) June 29, 2021
Others, were less sympathetic to the cause such as Selangor PAS Secretariat Roslan Shahir Mohd Shahir who said shared his thoughts on Facebook.
In the post, he said that the movement is a campaign engineered by Pakatan Harapan (PH) and added that those who want help can do so by visiting relevant agencies.
Go and meet the respective block heads or village heads, zakat centers, imams, chairmen and mosque and surau committees. The people’s representative service offices are also open apart from the offices of political parties that work for the people every day and do not give up just supplying white flags.
Selangor PAS Secretariat Roslan Shahir Mohd Shahir via Facebook
Meanwhile, Bachok MP Nik Abduh Nik Aziz had a different view on the matter, saying that Malaysians should seek help from God instead of humans.
Raise your hands in prayer to Him. That is the flag of strength and optimism in the test of life. Don’t lift defeat to the test by teaching the people to raise the white flag.
Bachok MP, Nik Abduh Nik Aziz
Share your thoughts with us via TRP’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
