LETTER | The prime minister of Malaysia has announced a platform where the Malaysian people can donate to help ease the burden of the country’s financial situation. The Hope Fund, or “Tabung Harapan Malaysia”, is now officially launched and it will be under the jurisdiction of the Finance Ministry.

As a citizen of Malaysia, I definitely welcomed the idea because it provides us as citizens the opportunity to be a stakeholder of the country. In addition to that, this is definitely a great platform to show that the people are indeed powerful in developing the country.

Some have criticised the move as it seemed to be burdening the people and there were even citizens poking fun at the Council of Eminent Persons for coming up with a “ridiculous” idea.

I understand that there are many ways we can help the country by using simple gestures such as paying our taxes, loans, as well as fines. But one should know that the suggestion to launch the Hope Fund was not thought of overnight.

A similar campaign has been carried out before in South Korea. About nineteen years ago, South Korea was on the brink of bankruptcy due to the Asian Financial Crisis in 1998. Companies and banks collapsed as a result of their debts and many people lost their jobs during the course of the crisis.

The South Korean government obtained a massive US$58 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The funds received came with strict conditions as South Korea were required to liberalize its capital accounts and trade, restructure corporate governance, reform its labour market and many more.

In order to pay off the debts acquired from IMF, the government along with large business groups including Daewoo, Samsung and Hyundai wasted no time in raising the funds to pay back the loan. On Jan 5, 1998, a national campaign was launched as the government asked the country's citizens to donate their gold jewellery.

Did the people respond? Millions of South Koreans answered the government plea and donated their gold at special collection centres as they donated what they could such as wedding rings, necklaces or small gold figures that are presented in South Korea on a child's first birthday. Moreover, even athletes joined in as they donated their gold medals and trophies for the sake of the country.

These collections meant that South Korea was able to pay back the debt acquired from IMF in three years. As a result of this also, the country recovered from the brink of bankruptcy to become the 11th largest economy in the world today.

The point here is that what made the campaign in South Korea amazing was the willingness of the people to come together to sacrifice for the sake of the country. The people were not only sacrificing for their country but it was also a sacrifice for the younger generation so that they didn’t bear the burden of the debt.

Personally I believe that the Hope Fund is based on the South Korean experience as our leaders believe in people power, and I see this initiative as a platform for the people to be involved in building a new Malaysia together.

A gentle reminder: The campaign does not force any particular group of people to donate and it is indeed voluntary. Donate what you can and be a part of history.

This is an opportunity for us to create history in making this a worthwhile platform, in relation to the South Korean experience that, until today, stands as one of the most moving shows of patriotism and self-sacrifice the world has ever known.

AARON DENISON is a research assistant at the Asia-Europe Institute in Universiti Malaya.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.