The messages range from threats like, “If I see you, I will break your face” and “I will kill you” to plain vitriol, like “My child chose you over me. Are you satisfied?”
He said he lodged four police reports on the death threats, but when asked what action was taken against the culprits, he flashed a rueful smile.
“Nothing. When the police tracked them down and let me speak to them, I told them I forgive them and won’t press charges,” the pharmacist told The Malaysian Insider recently.
“Of course, that just makes them angrier, then they get their friends to send me hate messages,” he added with a frown.
But forgiveness is the message that the cheerful do-gooder wants to spread through his numerous charity and social projects, along with love and acceptance.
The "I Want to Touch a Dog" programme, which was aimed at helping Malaysians overcome their fear of dogs and understand how Islam perceives the canines, was just one of Syed Azmi’s numerous programmes under his #tamakpahala project.
Recently, the floods in the east coast prompted the activist to organise a donation drive in his neighbourhood with his FreeMarket team, in collaboration with several other NGOs.
The drive was a huge hit, with the team finding themselves swamped with boxes piling around the drop-off centre, in a scene that Syed Azmi described as “officially insane”.
But even when Malaysia is not facing a crisis, Syed Azmi is organising five to eight programmes a month which he broadcasts on Facebook for others to join.
Last month, he and his friends went kite-flying with some 100 orphans, after spending two hours digging in the dirt under the morning sun to harvest vegetables for 160 refugee families.
During another memorable weekend, he organised an “azan by deaf people” programme, where he roped in 22 deaf people to perform an azan (call for prayers) through sign language on stage before an audience of some 3,000 Muslims during an event at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre.
“I had goosebumps. The entire hall was silent as they did the azan. No one left until they finished,” recalled Syed Azmi, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.
“These are the programmes that mean the most to me. Azan by deaf people. Playing futsal with the blind.
“Next year, we’re doing ‘halal speed dating’ and ‘ride for dummies’. I can’t provide more details yet but it’s going to happen,” he said with an excited grin.
The unique twist to Syed Azmi’s #tamakpahala projects is that they don’t cost him a single sen.
One example is the "pregnant train", where he directs a group of female volunteers wearing fake baby bumps onto trains across the Klang Valley.
As the trains begin moving, the “expectant mothers” stand before seated commuters. Some hurriedly give up their seats, but others deliberately lower their gaze, even as the volunteers groan and pointedly rub their protruding bellies inches from their face.
“Once the train stops at the next station, we announce to them that this was actually our project to spread awareness on giving up their seats for the needy,” explained Syed Azmi, adding that they have done this three times so far.
When asked what inspired him to begin #tamakpahala single-handedly three years ago, he replied without hesitation: “My parents. I work really far away from my parents, so if they need help, the first people they can reach out to are their neighbours.
“So I wanted to encourage this spirit of neighbourliness starting with myself, and that was how #tamakpahala was born.”
The projects proved a hit in the neighbourhood, and everything was working out beyond Syed Azmi’s expectations – until the controversial "I Want to Touch a Dog" event in October.
Ironically, it was his most infamous #tamakpahala project that turned several of their neighbours against his parents, undoing all his past good deeds in their eyes.
“My dad prays at the nearby mosque every day, and people there just turned away from him. That was the saddest part,” said Syed Azmi, his voice overcome with emotion.
“To be turned away, at the age of 60-plus, when the entire point of #tamakpahala was so that my neighbours could care for him.”
Things are getting better for his parents, he said, but it’s not the same.
The hate messages, too, weigh heavily on Syed Azmi’s mind, but he won’t be changing his mobile phone number as too many people need to reach him.
“The worst threats are from the ladies, they say they want to break my face. The men say they want to kill me, but I know that’s practically impossible to carry out so I’m not so shaken.
“But to break my face? That’s possible, and a very real threat.”
But rather than condemning the haters, they actually spur Syed Azmi to work harder and ensure they understand the true message behind his projects.
“I failed to reach out what I wanted to teach and share with the event. My words are not right; I have bad English. I’m not articulate enough to express what is the goodness of the event.
“Today, I still smile towards my haters, because they taught me to work harder. The message behind my project didn’t get to them, so I have to work harder to get to them,” he said earnestly.
Calm in the face of hate and scorn
But being the target of nationwide animosity and baseless accusations was not easy for him during the first month.
As hate and scorn poured through anonymous blogs and into his inbox, Syed Azmi said he remained calm because he remembered a message about dogs by Ustaz Iqbal, who had spoken at the programme.
“The reason I was calm was because of the dog. Ustaz Iqbal said that it is wrong for anybody to feel that they are better than the ‘anjing kurap’ (disease-infested dog).
“To me, it was a very powerful message, and that’s how I feel about the dog. A dog taught me to be kind, humble, and that I am no better than anyone else. The dog taught me that you can be up one day, down one day.”
But the pain came flooding back when Utusan Malaysia published an article on Wednesday mentioning his “dog-touching campaign” as part of its 2014 highlights, prompting fresh hate messages into his phone even as he was busy organising donations for flood victims.
Despite the stigma now attached to his name, and the numerous claims on the Internet that he is a Christian masquerading as an ustaz to spread Shia teachings, Syed Azmi refuses to give up.
“The underprivileged and the poor are still out there. I promised to help them, and this project is something that I have put my heart and soul in,” he said.
For other Malaysians who wish to make a difference in society, Syed Azmi believes what is most important is to work within your means and believe in your ideas.
“Be honest. Be transparent. Start within your means. If you have an idea to change the mind-set of the nation, never think your idea is small and miniscule. Explain it in the best possible way can.
“Nobody is going to give you money. If you have RM100, use RM100. You don’t need money to do good. For me, the charity not only comes from money, but time, effort and knowledge.” – January 3, 2015.
No comments:
Post a Comment