Malay and Chinese neighbours of 23 years locked in tearful embrace before parting: ‘This is called kampung love’
A video showing a Chinese woman and her Malay neighbour, who was moving out of her HDB flat, locked in a tearful embrace has gone viral.
Shared on TikTok on Aug 25 by @gina_khazali, a real estate agent who goes by Agent G, it shows the two women, who have apparently been neighbours for 23 years, hugging each other. A man, probably the Chinese woman's husband, tells her it is OK, but the pair hugs even more tightly.
Agent G shared in a comment that the Malay woman’s children had moved out, prompting her to sell the apartment and downsize to a smaller unit.
“Seeing them hug their neighbours, the tears, the final look around the house… even Agent G also emo a bit,” said the real estate agent.
Testament to racial harmony and kampung spirit
The TikTok video has received more than 1.8 million views, 124,000 reactions, and 1,800 comments.
Netizens praised the good neighbourliness of the women.
“They aren’t neighbours, they are sisters,” said one TikTok user. “So sweet. I’m glad I have good neighbours, too,” another said.
Some hailed the video as a testament to racial harmony and the kampung spirit, with one netizen asking for more of such videos, adding: “We need to live harmoniously with each other... not find fault and hate one another.”
While praise was abundant, some lamented the scarcity of such closeness among neighbours today.
“This is so rare in Singapore. I, myself, feel the sadness. Omgosh — hope that both will still meet each other after this!” said one netizen.
“This is called kampung love. All this is missing now, sadly,” another said. A third admitted: “Sad.. I don’t even know my neighbours.”
Some netizens were touched by the scene.
“I just got back from the shop with a bag of ice; seeing this made me cry — and now my ice has melted. May the two of you still be in touch,” said a netizen, in Malay. “Wholesome,” commented another.
The new owner of the home, Instagram user @pinkyliew38, said in a post on Instagram that the Malay woman and her family were wonderful people, adding that she sensed their reluctance to leave.
“As we were leaving after the handover (of the apartment), I watched her hug her neighbors one by one, and in the end, she couldn’t hold back her tears. I felt like crying too at that moment, because I understood exactly how she felt,” said pinkyliew38 in Mandarin.
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