Be it donating to the relevant non-government organisations (NGOs) or volunteering to clean up houses and streets affected by the floods, it's heartwarming to see Malaysians coming together to help out any way they can.

Well, it seems that not all have the same goal.

'Kau cuci apa tu?'

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Rina Harun has drawn flak from netizens once again after a video of her helping to clean the compound of the Sekolah Kebangsaan Salak Tinggi flood relief center went viral on social media.

In a 13-second video that has been widely circulated (and probably widely made fun of too) on social media, Rina can be seen using a water jet to wash an apparently clean patch of pavement.

Here's the video:

While it may seem like a noble deed, netizens weren't entirely convinced because she was surrounded by a group of cameramen during her clean-up efforts.

In fact, many netizens opined that the Minister was doing that just for show:

Not Rina Harun being us during high school acah² doing gotong royong when our teachers taking photos ?? https://t.co/TJ7HcAUDPs

— Omar Faayiz ???? (@omarfaayiz) December 26, 2021

Rina,Kau cuci apa tu hanat, situ lumpur semua orang dah bersihkan apa lagi yang kau buat? Elok ambil water jet tu sembur otak kau!#DaruratBanjir pic.twitter.com/FFW0xrwBR4

— dylawok (@dylawok) December 26, 2021

As long as Rina Harun exist, we should never ever feel useless in this life.

— Kak Long (@SpongeBobCatz) December 27, 2021

I just KNOW from watching this that Rina Harun is the kind of person yg u doa cikgu x put u in same group for class project https://t.co/zoZrVPlMFC

— Tashny Sukumaran (@tashny) December 26, 2021

Kids are dying , rina harun be washing clean areas. ? sad innit

— fifihnf (@fifihanif) December 28, 2021

Excellent: Bird Dropping Cleaning Services. Who you’re gonna ☎️? JKM Minister: Rina Harun. https://t.co/cZqlxqArgO

— paulraja (@paulburenraja) December 28, 2021

pic.twitter.com/Qq77plrh2P

— tall dark and ugly (@xmrx77xh) December 28, 2021

kalau Rina Harun dengan water jet boleh jadi menteri, Who knows in future giliran kita pula ??

— Aina Fatihah ? (@ainaxftihah) December 28, 2021

Seumur hidup x pernah ada menteri dtg sekolah aku cuci kan taik cicak unggas, salute to rina harun https://t.co/h2jF2x8WBx

— I’M FINE ? (@burningdyo) December 27, 2021

Damn. Haven’t been back to my apartment in Kota Bharu over a year. Lots of tahi cicak. I don’t know how to clean these. Guess I need to call Rina Harun. pic.twitter.com/6MI9EUXEJC

— Darkest before dawn (@burstaxon) December 27, 2021

Department responds to criticisms

After the issue created a huge firestorm online, the Social Welfare Department (JKM) released a statement on Sunday (28 December).

According to the statement quoted by The Star, the whole thing was not an act and Rina was not posing with the water jet.

Instead, she was helping the department "clean up bird dropping stains that were difficult to get rid of."

"Since the waterjet machine was already there, Datuk Seri Rina accepted the request and did the work with an open heart," the statement read.

KENYATAAN MEDIA [MENTERI MENGGUNAKAN WATERJET MEMBERSIHKAN SIMEN BERSIH]YB Datuk Seri Rina Harun, Menteri KPWKM telah turun padang bersama-sama dengan 200 orang sukarelawan Skuad Keluarga Malaysia dan warga KPWKM untuk melakukan aktiviti pembersihan di PPS SK Salak, Sepang. pic.twitter.com/KpbEqe61MV

— Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat (@JKMHQ) December 26, 2021

On top of that, the Department said that Rina was also getting her hands dirty in arranging other logistics at the school.

Together with volunteers, Rina had helped clean up and rearrange tables and chairs in the classrooms in preparation for the upcoming school session.

She also helped to pack away tents used by the flood victims.