YOURSAY | ‘It just goes to show that M’sians of whatever race or religion are good citizens.’

Student finds RM1.6k banked into account by mistake, returns money

Bruclax: Wendy Lim, thank you. At 26 years old, you have shown Malaysians the true meaning of dignity. You returned the RM1,600 which was transferred into your bank account by mistake to the rightful owner.

You know what is happening in our beloved country. ‘Corruption, deceit and thievery’ is the slogan of the day and they hide behind racial and religious supremacy.

We have seen corrupt officials at the highest echelon spending lavishly money that does not belong to them, and they are shameless about it.

Lim, you had a conscience. I am sure honest Malaysians are proud of you. And I hope that your action is an example of what decent behaviour should be.

Kawak: RM1,600 returned to the owner because it was not morally right. RM2.6 billion in his (former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s) account and he did not know who put in the money for him.

He spent as he liked because it was also morally right.

Pandak: Well, someone in Malaysia is here on trial using the dumb excuse that he thought the huge sum of money transferred into his bank account was a ‘donation’ to further some Islamic causes and he used the money to buy jewellery for his wife.

And he’s still free roaming around at by-elections and has people kissing his hands.

Man Lee: This news is an indictment of the Malaysian culture generally. Returning the money is the right thing to do and it is also probably illegal to use money that is not yours.

But many in the same situation, like the former prime minister, would pretend that the money is theirs. That is bad culture and ‘kurang ajar’.

JBL: No big deal in returning the money as it was the right thing to do, there are many who would do what Lim did.

People have returned my wallet with hundreds of US dollars. I also know where a social study was done with homeless people begging on the streets. They called out to passers-by after seeing purses fall with loads of money and returned them.

Now, this is what honesty is.

Not like Najib, who is allegedly trying to fool us that the money he received was from “donations”. It is the people's money - yours and mine.

Right and Wrong: Some might say Lim returned the money because it was only a small amount. If only it had been a few million ringgit, she could have spent it and said it was a donation.

But Lim proved to be a simple and honest person. That is real dignity.

Pakatan4life: I wonder if Lim would have done the same thing and returned the money had she found RM2.6 billion in her account.

The Wakandan: She cannot hide the astronomical amount of RM2.6 billion, especially as she was an ordinary account holder. It will be found out. The central bank would come to know about it and questions would be asked.

Even with a former PM who had tremendous power in his hands, it would be difficult to hide such a huge sum.

They could kill the bank owner or make up a story like it was a donation from a foreign king, but procedures still have to be followed. Otherwise, it is illegal.

Mano: The missionary schools taught us to keep our rubbish in our school bags and pockets until we see a dustbin. That was the moral standards then.

Today, they teach you to keep stolen money and claim it was a “donation”.

Boeyks: Some people, including so-called great defenders of race and religion, adviser emeritus, datuk, etc, will claim this is ‘rezeki’ (good fortune) and will spend it without a second thought.

This occurs to even those with “dignity”, who don't work hard but expect freebies for everything ranging from donations, handouts, tax exemptions and political funding, among others.

Alamak: In Najib’s case, it was not paid by mistake. Najib said a dead king had paid him when the king was alive. Najib did not produce any evidence to show that the dead king had paid the money.

The brain impaired, including Mohamed Apandi Ali, who was then attorney-general, accepted what Najib said although it was completely ludicrous.

Worried Sick: This lovely student is to be congratulated. It just goes to show that Malaysians of whatever race or religion are good citizens.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad (whom we love) should take a lesson from this young woman's action and stop claiming that the Indians and Chinese citizens of our country are ‘pendatang’ (foreigners) and ‘kafirs’ (non-believers).

Ryan: Mohamad Azim Mohd Nor was lucky he did not accidentally deposit RM1,600 into Najib’s account.

Najib most probably would have used the money for his wife Rosmah Mansor’s haircut and claim that he did not know the source of the funds as he thought it was a donation from Saudi Arabia.

However, Najib may return the unused portion of the funds - perhaps RM20 - to Mohamad Azim.

Darmakochi: These are basic human values that are universal. You do not need any religion to teach that. And it is covered in Pendidikan Moral in schools.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. In the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.