When disaster strikes, some run away and some run towards the fire.
At its heart, a humanitarian is someone who stands in solidarity with the suffering, driven by compassion, purpose, and the unshakable belief that every human life matters. Whether delivering medical aid, distributing food, or documenting stories from crisis zones, they bear witness and carry hope, even when it costs them dearly.
World Humanitarian Day (19 August) honours those who serve with courage and compassion, often at great personal risk. It is also a sobering reminder of the dangers they face: 2023 was the deadliest year on record, with 280 aid workers killed. And as needs grow, resources lag, in 2024, only a fraction of the US$48.65 billion required to assist 186.5 million people has been secured[1,2].
Yet in this challenging landscape, Malaysians continue to step forward. When the 2023 Türkiye–Syria earthquake struck, Malaysia swiftly deployed 70 SMART members, backed by military medical teams and airlifted aid. Private contributions and NGO efforts followed, setting up a field hospital and delivering over RM20 million (US$4.4 million) in assistance[3,4].
From musicians turned aid workers to diplomats steering through tragedy, these seven Malaysians show that humanitarian service takes many forms, but always carries the same heartbeat: courage over comfort, hope over fear.
#1: Hazwani Helmi: The Voice That Echoed Gaza
At just 27, Hazwani Helmi is more than a singer-songwriter and actress – she is a humanitarian whose art carries the weight of worlds torn apart. Her calling grew stronger after joining the Malaysian Consultative Council for Islamic Organisation’s (MAPIM) Rescue Syria missions, where she encountered both devastation and resilience in unforgettable ways[5].
In 2019, she travelled to Gaza as part of the Wake Up for Gaza mission, an experience that inspired her solo debut You Are Not Alone (YANA), a tender anthem of solidarity drawn from the courage of Palestinian children[6,7].
I stand strong not because of me, but because of the Palestinian children whose spirit burns within me. – Hazwani Helmi[6]
Her humanitarian work through MAPIM’s Rescue Syria campaigns has helped deliver clean water from 24 new wells to over 250,000 Syrians, distribute 130,000 packs of bread and 7,000 winter blankets, equip Aleppo, Hama, and Idlib with ambulances and a maternity clinic, reopen 23 schools for 15,000 students, and send MYR 2 million worth of essentials across 15 aid containers[5].
Yet what stays with her most are the small, human moments. In Syria, a grieving father gave her team his late son’s toy car, still stained with blood, as a gesture of thanks. It was a simple, searing reminder of the cost of conflict[8].
Alongside her sister Heliza, also a well-known humanitarian, Hazwani has braved sleepless nights, mud-clogged roads, and even caves to reach people others could not. Today, she carries that same determination into her music, holding fast to the belief that no one should face hardship alone[9].
#2: Tan Sri Dr. Jemilah Mahmood: Healing Beyond Borders
In 1999, as the war in Kosovo unfolded on TV screens, Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, then an obstetrician-gynaecologist in Kuala Lumpur, felt a pull she couldn’t ignore. The images of civilian suffering spurred her to act. With friends and her own savings, she founded MERCY Malaysia, without permits, funding, or even a board, and embarked on her first mission: delivering mobile medical relief to refugee children in Kosovo[10].
In 2003, while delivering medical aid in Iraq, she was shot in the hip. She stitched herself up, refused immediate evacuation, and hours later performed a life-saving emergency C-section[11, 12].
My entire working life has been about waking up at odd hours to tend to a patient or a humanitarian emergency. – Dr. Jemilah Mahmood[13]
Under her leadership, MERCY Malaysia grew into a respected global organisation, becoming the first NGO in Asia certified for humanitarian accountability in 2007. Its teams have served in Banda Aceh, Darfur, Gaza, North Korea, and beyond[14].
Her leadership has earned global honours, including the Gandhi–King–Ikeda Award, the Isa Award for Services to Humanity, and in 2019, she became the first Malaysian to receive the ASEAN Prize. The Sultan of Perak himself called her a model of visionary humanitarian leadership[15, 16].
Today, Dr. Jemilah is Pro-Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University Malaysia, Executive Director of the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health, a former head of UN emergency response, and once served as Under-Secretary General of the Red Cross in Geneva. Across all these roles, her conviction remains the same: compassion must be acted on, not just felt[17].
#3: Captain K. Balasupramaniam Krishnan: Turning Tragedy into a Lifelong Rescue Mission
A childhood memory of his mother suffering from burns lit a fire in young Balasupramaniam Krishnan to devote his life to safety and preparedness[18].
Today, Malaysians know him simply as Captain Bala, a safety activist, survival trainer, and humanitarian who has built two major rescue organisations from the ground up: the Malaysian Volunteer Fire & Rescue Association (MVFRA) in the early ’90s, and later MISAR (Malaysia International Search and Rescue)[19, 20].
His teams have responded to disasters worldwide, from the 2003 Bam earthquake in Iran and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Aceh, to Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (2008) and the Nepal earthquake (2015). Closer to home, they have tackled countless floods, landslides, and fires.
Some rescues are quiet but unforgettable, like the time he climbed 18 storeys to save an Indonesian domestic worker stranded on a ledge, earning formal thanks from the Indonesian government[20].
Captain Bala has been honoured with awards including the Pingat Ketua Pengarah Bomba, Pingat Pangkuan Negara, Anugerah Belia Negara, and a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Volunteer Malaysia Awards (2016)[20].
Even now, he remains hands-on. In early 2025, when floods hit East Malaysia, MISAR mobilised emergency teams, coordinated relief, and distributed essentials with support from partners like Allianz Malaysia[21].
Flood disasters require swift and coordinated action, and MISAR is committed to being on the front lines. – Captain Bala[21]
His conviction is simple: no one should face disaster alone. That’s why he trains ordinary people for extraordinary moments, because in those critical first minutes after a mudslide, flood, or crash, it is often the community that saves its own[22].
#4: Jismi Johari: The Advocate Who Brings Aid and Voices Together
When Gaza’s cries for help grew too loud to ignore, Jismi Johari, president of the Malaysian Humanitarian Aid and Relief (MAHAR), decided empathy needed to be turned into action.
Instead of sending words, he sent meals around 10,000 hot plates a day at the height of Ramadan, cooked in makeshift central kitchens that moved daily to avoid air strikes. For those receiving them, it was more than food; it was a lifeline[23].
Humanitarian efforts demand more than goodwill. They require knowledge, strategic planning, and the resilience to face real challenges on the ground. – Jismi Johari[24]
Jismi also led MAHAR’s annual Qurban Programme, mobilising sacrificial rites for more than 16,000 people across seven countries in 2025, from Somalia and Kenya to Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Palestinian refugees in Egypt[25].
When humanitarian corridors closed during Ramadan, he spoke out, publicly condemning Israel’s blockade on aid to Gaza and highlighting that some threats, like starvation and medical shortages, can be as deadly as bombs[26].
Beyond aid delivery, Jismi champions integration and dignity. Under his leadership, MAHAR has urged the government to issue work permits to Palestinian refugees in Malaysia, enabling them to contribute economically, socially, and culturally[27].
What sets him apart is his ability to translate compassion into tangible impact, making sure his help reaches the most vulnerable, no matter the distance or the danger.
#5: Marcus Yam: Capturing the Faces of War for the World to See
When the last U.S. planes lifted off from Kabul in 2021, the chaos was broadcast around the world. But in the hands of Marcus Yam, a Malaysian-born photojournalist with the Los Angeles Times, the images became more than breaking news; they became a human record of history.
His photographs captured the panic at airport gates, Taliban fighters reclaiming the city, and ordinary Afghans staring into an uncertain future. He remembers walking through a makeshift camp at night, when men and women tugged at his shirt and pleaded for help[28].
For this work, Marcus received the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography, one of journalism’s highest honours[29].
Born in Kuala Lumpur, Marcus began in engineering lecture halls in the U.S. before photography turned from a hobby into a calling. Since then, he has stood in war-scarred streets in Gaza, Ukraine, and Afghanistan, documenting not just battles, but the quiet resilience of everyday people[30].
I believe that photojournalists are responsible for constantly documenting. … One of my photo-mentors taught me to shoot with your heart, not with your eyes. – Marcus Yam[31]
His empathetic, dignified storytelling has earned him not only a Pulitzer, but also a Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Journalism Award, a World Press Photo Award, and other international recognitions[30].
Today, he continues to work on the frontlines, driven by the hope that showing the human face of war might make it harder for the world to look away.
#6: Noramfaizul Mohd Nor: The Cameraman Who Never Came Home
When famine gripped Somalia in 2011, seasoned Bernama TV cameraman Noramfaizul Mohd Nor joined a Putera 1Malaysia Club humanitarian convoy to Mogadishu, documenting both the news and the aid delivered to those in need[32].
On September 2, while heading to the airport, a stray bullet struck him at a busy city junction. African Union peacekeepers claimed it was accidental, but the reality was stark; he became the first Malaysian journalist killed in an overseas humanitarian mission[33].
He was 39, just days away from returning home to his wife and two young sons.
His death was a national wake-up call. The media hailed him as a hero, the Human Resources Ministry began drafting safety guidelines for journalists in conflict zones, and the state of Malacca posthumously awarded him the Gallantry Star of Malacca. His funeral was accorded military honours[34].
His death will be recorded in Bernama’s annals as a selfless and heroic sacrifice of a true professional, not only in the course of his duty but also in the genuine pursuit of humanitarian value. – Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, President of the 1Malaysia Princes Club[32]
Noramfaizul’s work was about showing the world realities that might otherwise be ignored. His final assignment cost him his life, but it also reminded Malaysians of the dangers faced by those who bear witness in the most volatile places.
#7: Dato Dr. Fauziah Mohd Taib: At the Heart of Malaysia’s Response to MH17
For over three decades, Dato Dr. Fauziah Mohd Taib served in Malaysia’s foreign service, representing the nation in capitals from Washington D.C. to Ottawa. In 2008, she became Ambassador to the Netherlands, a role that also made her Malaysia’s Permanent Representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
In quieter times, she was known for her warmth, even holding a painting exhibition in The Hague in 2012 [35]. But in July 2014, her world changed. When Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 on board (including 43 Malaysians), her embassy became the nerve centre of the crisis[36].
She led the Joint Operations Centre in The Hague, working around the clock with Dutch authorities, international investigators, and grieving families back home.
Sometimes, we did not even sleep as we were waiting for the developments each day. Once we got it in black and white, we would inform the families of the victims in Malaysia. – Dr. Fauziah Mohd Taib[37]
She was present at Eindhoven Air Base for the solemn ceremonies as victims’ remains were flown in, ensuring each was treated with dignity. And when Malaysia was initially excluded from the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team, she pushed back, insisting the airline’s home country deserved a seat at the table. Her persistence paid off; Malaysia joined the probe and had a voice in the search for justice[38].
Dr. Fauziah retired in 2017, but the MH17 tragedy remains one of the defining moments of her diplomatic career, a testament to leadership in the most difficult of circumstances.
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