Here’s a story of how these good people banded together to help a palm oil plantation worker who was in desperate need of assistance.

The power of social media

According to a report by Malay Mail, Bhenhar Jul Abdul Razak met the palm oil plantation worker named Jaya recently at the Lahad Datu Airport.

Little did he knew at that time that it will be an emotional meeting for him.

Jaya’s tale is a sad one: he used to work in a palm oil plantation, but his livelihood was destroyed after he met an accident when his motorcycle collided with a lorry six months ago.

The impact led to a broken leg.

His employer also left him hanging without any support, which forced him to live on without receiving proper medical treatment for six months.

His dilemma didn’t end there either: gangrene began setting in his untreated leg, and he was told that the cost to amputate his leg would be RM16,000.

According to the report, Jaya is supported by his wife, who works at a pasar malam with a daily wage of just RM15.

Desperate to get rid of the pain but at wits end because he had no means to do so, Jaya travelled to the Lahad Datu Airport on foot with his crutches to plead for help from the public.

That was when Bhenhar Jul met Jaya.

“This morning, I went to Lahad Datu Airport and I saw a man sitting on the side of the road in a weak state while surrounded by airport staff.

“We learned that he had walked all the way from his village to the airport to ask for help from the public.

“I choked up while listening to his story and he told us what happened to him with tears in his eyes.

“He endured the pain at home while the condition of his leg worsened, and the wound opened up until you could see the bone,” wrote Bhenhar.

Determined to help the poor man, he worked together with charity organisations like Liga Kebajikan Asnaf LD and Bushra Borneo Resources to help raise funds for Jaya.

And kind-hearted Malaysians came through.

Through the initiative, financial donations poured in from good Samaritans, who saw the plea for help via social media promotions.

More than RM49,000 was raised in less than 24 hours, with RM10,000 being allocated for Jaya's surgery while RM3,000 will be used to buy daily essentials for the family.

Part of the donation will also go into buying a prosthetic leg for Jaya so that he could have his normal life back.