He was moved when he saw an elderly woman crying in front of her ruined house after the major flooding across Selangor and a few other states last week.

Keow, 32, said he approached the woman, Sarah Tabri, whom he fondly calls “Nenek Sarah”, and asked her what was wrong.

“She told me her story about how everything was ruined at her home and how she had been trapped for six hours but was lucky to be rescued.

“I felt sorry for her as she had also lost her husband to Covid-19 a few months earlier,” Keow told FMT.

“The damage to the property was bad. There was no water in Kajang for three or four days.

He promised Sarah that he would return after three days. And he kept his word.

“I promised Nenek Sarah that I would be back to help to do the cleaning because we needed water supply to do so,” he said.

Keow enlisted the help of state executive councillor Hee Loy Sian, Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim and Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar.

“When I said I would help, I was fully committed. Together with other volunteers and two of the YBs, I helped to clean her home. We did it within six hours, thanks to the collective help.

“The smile on Nenek Sarah’s face after we were done was priceless. It was a very touching moment,” he said.

Keow said he was impressed with the actions of Hee and Nurul Izzah, who not only helped to clean the house but also contributed cash and helped to get furniture for Sarah’s house, while Sim contributed kitchen equipment.

He said it was a moving moment to see Malaysians, regardless of race, religion and political status, coming together to help others in need.

Keow shared a picture of a happy Nenek Sarah with a bowl filled with satay on his Twitter with the caption: “Glad to see her house all cleaned up, she even took me as her ‘anak angkat’ for helping her out. I mean why not, I love satay kajang… and granny loves to feed the young ones.”

According to Keow, one of Sarah’s daughters, Nor Shahira Lakimin, told him that her mother was so happy that she even considered him an “anak angkat” (adopted child), and told him to visit during Hari Raya.

Nor Shahira, 39, said she, too, was surprised over the help that was given to her mother.

“I thought some people do it for the sake of pictures. But he (Keow) walked the talk and he fulfilled his promise,” she said.