KOTA KINABALU: The stranger, who appeared out of nowhere to help her, spoke in halting English but she completely understood his language of kindness.
This goodwill was demonstrated by a Malaysian who went out of his way to help the woman – a Taiwanese content creator – who was on a road trip around Sabah with her partner several months ago when their motorcycle broke down.
The back tyre burst so the pair were stranded in a deserted area, believed to be somewhere near the interior Nabawan district.
They were soon spotted by a local resident, who had since been identified as Martin Majin, a teacher.
He was heading to work with several others in his four-wheel drive truck when he saw the tourists in trouble.
Martin approached them to find out about their problem. Then he proceeded to take a detour just to help the Taiwanese pair search for a workshop.
“This man and a teenager helped us carry our motorcycle up the truck, tied it properly and then turned the other way round to bring us to a workshop,” said the Taiwanese woman, teary eyed, in a video which she uploaded on her YouTube channel called Zoebitalk.
“Why should they want to help us? I am so touched,” she said.
The group drove around for about 20 minutes until they came to the Nabawan township but they could not find a repair shop as many businesses were closed.
“I think many shops are closed because it is the Chinese New Year period,” she said.
Finally, they found a workshop that could fix the problem.
Martin, who helped her deal with the mechanic, eventually turned to leave but was stopped by the woman.
She wanted to thank him properly by offering a cash reward, which was declined by Martin.
“I only wanted to help,” he said.
The Taiwanese was insistent, even slipping the money through Martin’s vehicle window.
However, Martin got out of his car to give the money back to her.
“It’s okay, we are Malaysians here. This is my village.
“Just think of me as someone from Nabawan and remember us here,” Martin said.
The Tawanese responded by saying that she felt the warmth and that the kindness shown to her was a “gift” and a precious memory for her.
And the “gift” did not end there.
A worker of a sundry shop, which was located next to the workshop, came over with drinks and bread for her, without asking for payment.
This time, she managed to purchase other items and insisted on paying for them.
She also paid extra to the mechanic after the motorcycle tyre was fixed.
The Taiwanese said the encounter with these Sabah folk was proof that her childhood imagination of a beautiful world was true.
Her video, which was uploaded just two weeks ago, has racked up almost 300,000 views.
It led to some commentators sharing about how they had been given a helping hand by Sabah folk.
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