KOTA BARU:A kind-hearted teacher from the East Coast, renowned for his food review on TikTok, recently captured netizens' attention with a heartwarming tale of empathy and inclusivity.
Azfaizal Abdul Aziz, 48, shared how one of his students felt too shy to share their contribution to the class potluck lunch, fearing it was less extravagant than others.
Sharing the story, Azfaizal, who teaches Science, said that the end-of-year party for the sixth graders was organised three days ago.
"I am the class teacher, and on the last day, I planned a 'potluck' concept party, where I brought the main dish and asked parents to contribute additional food.
"On the day of the party, there were all sorts of food brought by the students, and like in other classes, I tasted each one.
"I saw the students' happy reactions when I tasted their food, and after tasting everything, I found a container of agar-agar (hard jelly) placed beside the water dispenser.
"I opened the container, ate it, and invited other students to join. I wanted to be fair and didn't want any student to feel upset if their food was left untouched, even if it was just agar-agar," he said when contacted.
Azfaizal said the agar-agar he tasted was delicious, and he tried asking who brought the dish, but no one answered.
"My heart was also touched when I tasted the dessert because I knew my students come from poor backgrounds.
@azfaizalaziz Terasa betul dlm lubuk hati, murid susah ke, murid senang ke, kaya dan miskin tu hanya atas dunia je .Cikgu layan sama rata je dik..
"So, I understood that was all they could bring to the party, and maybe they were embarrassed to show that food... perhaps worried that no one would want to taste it," he said.
Azfaizal also added that his intention in sharing the video on TikTok was not to shame anyone but simply to share a moment that touched his heart.
"I didn't expect it to go viral to the extent of almost 10,000 comments. I read mostly positive comments, saying that what I did (commenting on and tasting the food) was a good initiative.
"Thank you for the positive comments. I want to convey to everyone who watched the video that you should not be ashamed of your mother's cooking because their cooking is the best.
"I hope other teacher friends can also appreciate the food or any gifts given by students because it will make them proud, and they will also share it with their parents at home." he said.
