PAGOH: A couple's courageous act to help rescue two boys from a fire won the hearts of media editors sitting as judges for the monthly National Press Club-MACROKIOSK Muhibbah Awards.
Twenty-five-year-old convenience store worker Amirul Husni Afendey and his wife, factory worker Nur Syarina Muhammad Noor, 23, were picked as the August winner for helping a father and his two young sons escape a shophouse fire.
National Press Club of Malaysia (NPC) president Datuk Ahirudin Attan said the couple was most deserving, having displayed the spirit of Muhibbah for their selfless act to help one another.
"This month's winner is worthy of the award as the judges acknowledge and reward their courageous efforts to help a fellow human being in trouble. They did so without expecting any recognition or reward.
"Amirul and Syarina have displayed exactly the kind of Muhibbah spirit that we set out to recognise and encourage," he said.
The pair took home the NPC-MACROKIOSK Muhibbah Award with a cash prize of RM2,000, a certificate and vouchers from brands like Tealive, Jaya Grocer and yoghurt brand llaollao.
NPC and enterprise solutions platform provider MACROKIOSK launched the monthly award series in April to recognise any individual, group or organisation that best exemplifies the true spirit of Muhibbah in Malaysia.
In congratulating the winners, MACROKIOSK chief executive officer Datuk Kenny Goh said the media editors were impressed by the couple's selfless act.
"It is great to see our initiative with NPC is helping to revive the Muhibbah spirit.
"We hope this award will continue to inspire others, as well as impact the future generation, to further inculcate Muhibbah as our Malaysian way of life," he said.
Amirul thanked the NPC and MACROKIOSK for the award, saying the recognition was a pleasant surprise and would be an encouragement to continue helping more people.
"Never beyond our wildest dreams did we expect our deed to be recognised, and this award will motivate us to continue helping others in need. Hopefully, it also inspires others to live the Muhibbah way as Malaysians," he said.
On the morning of July 6, Amirul sent Syarina to wait for the factory bus on the side of the main road opposite the row of shops.
Suddenly, Syarina noticed black smoke coming from one of the shophouses nearby, one owned by a local man named Zamirul Suahimi.
Moments later, she noticed Zamirul open the window screaming for help with his two sons, Muhammad Firas Syahmi, 10, and Muhammad Harith, four, in his arms, from the upper floor of the shophouse.
Without wasting another minute, Amirul and Syarina ran toward the shophouse. They caught Zamirul's two children, who landed safely in their grasp.
However, Zamirul, who took the leap after throwing his sons down, sustained injuries and was treated at the Sultanah Fatimah Specialist Hospital in Muar.
In the incident, 10 shophouses ended up in flames.