PETALING JAYA: A teacher's quiet acts of kindness more than two decades ago have captured the hearts of many after his former student shared her story on social media.
In a video on TikTok, police officer Ain Ahmad recounted how her former Geography teacher, Koay Aun Chuan, helped her when she was a Form Six student at SMK Kuala Ketil in Kedah.
Ain said the assistance took place during her school years in 2003 and 2004.
"When I was in Form Six, Cikgu Koay approached me and asked when I was going to pay my Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) examination fees," Ain said.
There was only a week left before the deadline, and she would not be allowed to sit for the exam if she failed to pay.
Ain told him that she did not have the money and was thinking of pawning her belongings, but the shops were closed for the Chinese New Year holidays.
She said her former teacher, who is now retired, immediately told her not to pawn anything.
"He asked me to meet another teacher during recess to apply for financial assistance and said he would inform the teacher about my situation," she said.
With the help of Koay, Ain received financial assistance and was able to pay the examination fees.
"After that, whenever I had to buy reference books, photocopy examination questions or spend money on anything school-related, Cikgu Koay would quietly come to my desk and place the money there," she added.
She noted that Koay would ensure her classmates did not notice his actions and helped her pay even for small expenses.
Even if the photocopying cost was only 20 sen, Koay would still reimburse her.
"His advice was always the same: study hard because education is the only thing that can change our lives," Ain said.
Ain said she had been searching for her teacher for a long time and was glad to have finally found him recently.
She added that despite coming from different racial backgrounds, Koay helped her tremendously when she was a struggling student.
