Recently, a video posted by TikToker @olalala9099 went viral online. The video shows a foreign begpacker standing in the middle of the road, begging for cash from passersby.
For those who aren’t familiar with the term “begpacking”, it is actually a portmanteau of the words “begging”‘ and “backpacking”. Most begpackers consist of Westerners. More often than not, these “tourists” can be spotted travelling in several Southeast Asian countries (including Malaysia) and will beg for charity from the locals.
@olalala9099 dia mermelukan duit tok makan..kalau rasa ihklas dari hati tok membantu sila kan..shell batu 9..hidup mcm roda kadang dkt atas kadang dkt bwh..bila senang lupa segalanya..tapi bila senang tau kan sapa nak cari..tu la kehidupan..please jgn hipokrit ok..#duniakejamdsebatkanmanusia #duniaxpernahadil
“He needs money to eat. If you really feel like helping, please do so. The location is at Shell Batu 9 in Cheras. Life is like a wheel. Sometimes you’re at the top, and on other times, you’re at the bottom. When you’re on top of the world, you tend to forget everything. But when you’re happy, you know who to look for. That’s life. Please, don’t be a hypocrite, okay?” the TikTok user shared.
At the time of writing (Thursday, 15th December), the video has amassed over 500k views on TikTok. The post was also flooded with plenty of reactions from local netizens. “In actual fact, these guys are taking advantage (of the locals),” one commenter wrote in the comments. Another added, “If you want to help the guy, please send him to the embassy. They’ll know what to do.”
The issue has also managed to catch the attention of a travel vlogger known as Reina Lum. She took to her TikTok to share her take on the matter. “Malaysians are too nice, to the point that it backfired on them,” Reina wrote on the caption. Check out what she said here:
@reinalum #stitch with @olalala9099 Org Msia ni mmg terlalu baik spi mkn diri 😅 #viralmalaysia #fypmalaysia #tiktokmalaysia #begpacker #whiteprivilege #traveltiktok #tourismindustry
