Star-powered kindness mission
The star behind ‘Makcik roast-mah’ is on a mission to curb hate in Malaysia by spreading loads of kindness.
SOCIAL media star Arwind Kumar may be best known for his hilarious persona Makcik Roast-mah persona, but he’s dead serious about his latest mission: creating more kindness.
He returns this year as a #StandTogether Kindness Ambassador, supporting the National Kindness Week campaign for the second year running.
The campaign was initiated by R.AGE and property developer SP Setia to empower students and schools to create a new culture of kindness across Malaysia, especially with school violence and cyberbullying on the rise.
“When I first joined #StandTogether (in 2017), I was shocked to see the number of people going through the exact thing as I did, but had remained silent,” he said.
“I had no one to talk to either, and seeing how the campaign has created a platform for people to reach out and seek help or guidance was the sign I needed to join #StandTogether again.”
Here, he shares a little about dealing with hate speech, his own acts of kindness, and how everybody can make the world a better place, one little act of kindness at a time.
R.AGE: What made you join the #StandTogether campaign for a second year?
Arwind: Working with #StandTogether campaign helped me deal with my childhood trauma, and that’s one of the reasons why I decided to participate again this year without any second thoughts.
More than having prominent personalities, I think it’s important for this campaign to have people who are really passionate about uplifting students.
This year, the campaign focuses more on hate speech. Do you think it is a growing problem?
People think they are entitled to say anything, and I believe in that because you should be allowed to share your opinion. But while some examples of hate speech could actually be constructive criticism, some people intentionally try to offend someone just to make them feel bad. It’s like we’re living in an era where freedom of speech is going a bit out of control!
Have you been a victim of hate speech? How did you deal with it?
Definitely! You can see it in the comments section in my videos. I don’t think I’ve ever had a video where you couldn’t find a single negative comment, but it doesn’t bother me. I know exactly what I’m doing, I know the message I want to get across. It’s not something you can stop with a few mean comments.
How do you carry out kindnesses in your daily life?
I actually run an NGO school for underprivileged kids, based in Setapak (Kuala Lumpur), where we teach them values like compassion and kindness.
But I want to say that there are billions of ways to spread kindness. You don’t need to start a school or be rich, to be kind. A simple gesture, like just asking how somebody is doing can make a difference in that person’s life.
I think people mistake kindness as something that can be seen – like going out to do something for someone else – they don’t realise that it needs to come from within. Even a simple call or text can be an act of kindness. It’s not the big things, it’s the small actions that make kindness more genuine, I think.
What will you be doing this National Kindness Week?
I’ll definitely be getting my students to participate in the Kindness Challenges! Even though they don’t really have any technology (the Challenge uses a WhatsApp chat bot to send out daily acts of kindness), we’ll be carrying out little challenges of our own.
Last year, I talked to them about my own experiences, and about what the kids I met during the (#StandTogether) school visits had gone through. I also encouraged my students to share their own experiences with kindness.
This year, I’m hoping someone from the #StandTogether team will be able to come and give a talk as well.
What will you be doing throughout the year to promote kindness?
This April, I’ll be organising a sports day between my school and refugee kids.
I really want my students to expand their understanding of different people from different backgrounds, and this is something all schools should work towards.
Kids have to learn how to engage with different people, because we all live under the same sky. It’s important for them to understand that love, kindness, and being joyful are all values we should cultivate in life.
And that’s not all... I also plan to have little events each month, like gathering youths to cook and distribute food to the homeless. I think serving and interacting with the underprivileged is another way to show kindness. Every day is a new opportunity to be kind, so why not take it? The #StandTogether National Kindness Week campaign is organised by R.AGE and SP Setia, and supported by partners including Digi, Unicef Malaysia, and International Medical University. Sign up for the campaign at www. standtogether.my.