"Help those who needed help more than me" - Chan Kok Fei

I was browsing the news and came across this case which touched me deeply (full link here - http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/3/20/nation/20674124&sec=nation) :

"JOHOR BARU: STPM top scorer Chan Kok Fei has been swamped with offers from generous donors who want to help him study medicine, but the single-minded teenager is determined to put his family’s needs above his own. ...

Despite all the offers of help, Kok Fei wrote a letter to The Star thanking the readers while maintaining that he would still pursue his original mission. ...

He said he would continue to give tuition in Kuala Lumpur during the week to support his family and finance his part-time classes for a Business Administration degree in Singapore....

Even though I won’t be doing medicine, business is my second choice. I can also help my family and the people around me in a shorter time,” he said, adding that that was his priority. ...

Kok Fei, the oldest of three siblings ...

He explained that his family needed the money as his father worked as a hawker, earning RM1,000 a month, while his mother could no longer work after a fall several years ago which caused blood clots in her brain. ...

“She was supposed to go for surgery, but we don’t have money for the treatment. ...

“I want to start contributing financially to my family because my father is also suffering from heart problems,” ...

Chan also said that he was fine with his decision and that he was convinced that the changes he could bring upon his family were far more worthy than achieving his dream of becoming a doctor....

He also urged all those who planned to help him to extend their assistance to others who needed help more than him. ..."

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My Comment:

- I have no words to express how deeply touched and how hugely impressed I am with this young man.

- If someone like him cannot obtain or does not receive financial assistance from either the State or National government, then, one must wonder if something is deeply rotten to the core with our government when we have scandals like the Port Klang Free Zone to the tune of RM$4.6 billion, the rampant wastages from Malaysia's space programs, the thousand Ringgit screwdriver set, etc., etc. etc... I pray the right thing will be done for this young man, and hope that he does not dwell on how much corruption and wastages our country has done in recent decades, and how a fraction of that wastage could have been used to the betterment of this country.

- He may be just 19 years old, but if all our newly confirmed MPs just have a fraction of this young man's sense of sincerity, sacrifice, fairness, compassion and love for his family and others poorer than him, and extend that to look after Rakyat's best interests, then, I have no doubt Malaysia would be a completely different country.

There may be no direct investing lessons here today, but maybe ... just maybe ... there may be a bigger lesson here for all of us to learn about humanity, love, personal sacrifice, and compassion for others.

Take care.