A wonderful muhibbah experience in the Camerons

A wonderful muhibbah experience in the Camerons

AFTER an enjoyable tea break at a tea plantation in Cameron Highlands recently, we started for home on the narrow, winding earth road.

It was a lonely road with little traffic. As we approached a double bend, a car came round the blind corner and swept into our path.

We had to swerve to avoid a head-on collision. Our car stopped abruptly and tilted sharply to the left. My brother, who was driving, yelled for us to get out of the car from the right side.

When we got out of the car we saw that it was resting longitudinally with its two left wheels dangling in the air above a narrow path below the road.

There was nothing we could do.

Then a lorry with two workers stopped to help us. But there was no way they could do anything to get the car back on the road.

As we saw it, any attempt to shift the vehicle could make the car topple off the edge of the road and plunge into the ravine below.

The two workers volunteered to drive back to the main road to get help. While they were gone another lorry stopped by.

Then a third lorry driver stopped to help. Both drivers tried to call a tow-truck or a crane on their handphones. Alas, there was no tow-truck or crane available.

The poultry farmer in the second lorry volunteered to get some help from a vegetable farm nearby.

He was back in about 30 minutes with two large concrete slabs and a long rectangular concrete beam. He also managed to collect a beam jack.

By this time there were about 20 passers-by in cars and lorries who had stopped by to help.

The poultry farmer organised those around to lay the concrete slabs on the path below and then placed the beam above them. He then jacked up the two outer wheels to rest on the beam.

The poultry farmer did a sterling job of directing all these wonderful people who had come to help.

Among them were a haji in an immaculate sarong sporting a moustache, four tourists from Britain and Canada on foot, two visitors from Singapore and some local people.

They finally pushed, and forced the two wheels up onto the road. My brother offered to pay the helpers but none of them accepted his money.

It was a wonderful gift of help at a crucial time like this.

Thank you, wherever you are now. May you all receive the same measure of help and kindness in your hour of need.



LEONG WEI CHING,

Shah Alam.

The Star, Thursday June 29, 2006