A recent social media post featuring a man and his young son has earned widespread praise from Malaysians after the pair went out of their way to clean a police beret they found lying on the road.
In a Threads post, Zalizan (@apexx_och_y), recalled how he and his 14-year-old son, Haq, came across the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) beret in an area near Balakong, Selangor. He noted that the badge on the beret bears the sacred words “Allah” and “Muhammad”.
Restoring dignity to the uniform
While walking back to their car after attending a kenduri (social gathering), Zalizan and Haq spotted the beret on the ground. Rather than leaving it there, they decided to take it home to clean it.
“We didn’t pick it up to keep it; we did so because we couldn’t bear the thought of the words ‘Allah’ and ‘Muhammad’ on the badge being run over by tyres or accidentally stepped on,” Zalizan wrote.
Once the beret was cleaned, the father and son headed to the Dato’ Abu Bakar Baginda Police Station, where they handed the item over to the officer on duty.
Lessons in honour and manners
For Zalizan, the gesture was deeply personal.
“My son and I felt a sense of satisfaction after returning the beret. My father was a former member of the Royal Malaysian Navy (TLDM), so when I saw the beret, I felt a responsibility to protect its dignity, especially given the sacred words on the badge,” he explained.
Speaking to WORLD OF BUZZ, Zalizan shared that he frequently reminds his football academy students that knowledge and good manners must go hand in hand.
“It may seem like a small gesture, but it teaches us about manners and respect, and that is what I wanted to show Haq,” he added.
“I wanted to educate my child through real-life lessons, which included bringing him to the station so he could understand the importance of civic duty and the consequences of wrongdoing.”
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