Stuck in Malaysia with no Wi-fi and Grab: how a stranger saved a family’s Hong Kong trip

It was like any other day for 24-year-old sales adviser Kanimolhi Krisnan from Shah Alam in Malaysia’s Selangor state. She was at the MRT station waiting for the bus to go home after work when a stranger approached her for help.\nFrida Pigny, an education strategist from Indonesia, was in Kuala Lumpur with her French husband Samuel Pigny and their daughter Axelle.\n“We were stuck at the Kuala Lumpur Sentral with no Wi-fi, no Grab, no taxi app; just faith and people,” Frida said. “We needed to go to the airport for our flight to Hong Kong.”\nShe revealed her first impression of Kanimolhi: “She had big headphones, zero expression and a ‘don’t-talk-to-me’ kind of face.”\nThis could not be further from the truth as Frida soon found out when she approached the young woman who was totally focused on listening to music on her headphones.\nKanimolhi not only booked an e-hailing car for Frida and her family, she even made sure the driver took them to the right airport terminal and translated for them as the driver did not speak much English.\n“I just did what I could to help at that time,” Kanimolhi said. “I strongly believe in being kind. It doesn’t matter whether it’s someone I know or a stranger; when someone needs help, I’ll help as much as I can,” she said.\nKanimolhi said that it was because of the good values her parents – mother cleaner Mathavi Mahamani and late father, lorry driver Krisnan Suppiah – instilled in her and her siblings from young. She is the youngest of four children and has two older brothers and an elder sister.\n“I know people are often afraid to help others or even talk to strangers as there are many scam cases these days. But I can tell when someone truly needs help. That’s why I didn’t hesitate to help her at that moment,” she said.\n\nKanimolhi recalled Frida approaching her, asking if she knew what time the bus for the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang would arrive.\n“I told her I’d find out for her, and then informed her it would come at 7.30pm, after checking,” Kanimolhi said.\nFrida felt stressed because she and her family had a flight to catch. They were afraid that they might miss their flight.\n“I suggested that they go to the airport by Grab so that they wouldn’t miss their flight, but she had already bought the one-day MyCity pass. I then advised her to return the pass but informed her she might not get a refund.”\nFrida then asked Kanimolhi to wait for her while she did that.\nAnd even though her bus home was about to leave, Kanimolhi agreed to wait for her.\n“After she returned, I booked a Grab car for her. When the driver arrived, I explained the situation to him and asked him to drive them to the airport quickly,” she said.\nBefore they left, Frida and her family took a photo with Kanimolhi.\nFrida noted it was then that she realised even in a time when there has been more social disconnect in the world and people have become more distant, kindness has not disappeared.\n“Kindness is still around. It’s just quieter now. It wears hoodies, headphones and tired faces,” she said.\nThe education strategist shared how research from the University of California, Berkeley showed that small acts of help, especially unexpected ones, could release oxytocin not only in the receivers but in the givers as well.\n“It literally strengthens social bonds. Kindness is everywhere if you dare to interrupt the indifference. And when you do, you remind humanity of itself once again,” she said.\nThis story was first published by The Star\n