TODAY, the prime minister announced a platform where Malaysians could donate to ease the burden of the country’s debt.

The Tabung Harapan Malaysia (THM) is now officially launched and it will be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance.

As a citizen of Malaysia, I welcome the idea because it provides us the opportunity to be a stakeholder of the country.

In addition, this is 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 some poked fun at the Council of Eminent Persons for coming up with the idea.

I understand that there are many ways we can help the country, such as paying our taxes, loans as well as fines.

But one should know that the suggestion to launch THM was thought about overnight. A similar campaign was done before in South Korea.

About 19 years ago, South Korea was on the brink of bankruptcy because of the Asian financial crisis in 1998.

Companies and banks collapsed as a result of their debts and many lost their jobs during the course of the crisis.

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

In order to pay off the IMF debt, 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 January 5, 1998, a national campaign was launched with citizens asked to donate their gold jewellery. Did the people respond? Millions answered the plea and donated their gold at special collection centres.

They donated wedding rings, necklaces and figurines that are presented to a child on its first birthday. Athletes donated their gold medals and trophies for the sake of the country. These collections meant that South Korea was able to repay its IMF debt in three years.

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.

They were not only sacrificing for their country but it was also to ensure that the younger generation need not bear the burden of the debt.

Personally, I believe that Tabung Harapan Malaysia is based on the South Korean experience as our leaders believe in people power and I see this initiative as a platform for Malaysians to be involved in rebuilding the New Malaysia together.

The campaign is entirely voluntary and people can donate what they 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 seen. – May 30, 2018.

* Aaron Denison is a research assistant at the Asia-Europe Institute, Universiti Malaya.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.