SINGAPORE — Heartwarming videos showing the bond between two neighbours of different ethnicities in Bedok has touched the hearts of many Singaporeans and international social media users.

Mr Shafiq Gazali, who is Malay, and his young Vietnamese-Chinese neighbours — Jenny Xin, 10, and Elly Xin, eight — see each other almost every day and enter each other's houses freely.

The 32-year-old records the trios’ everyday moments on TikTok, from having meals together to spending time at each other's house. Quite a number of his videos have gone viral, garnering comments from viewers who praised the neighbours for embodying the "true kampung spirit".  

His most viral video to date shows him walking out of his room to see Elly dining comfortably at the dining area.

“Are you a Malay kid now?” Mr Shafiq teased her at the sight of her tucking into chicken balado with her hands while watching a video on her phone.

Chicken balado is a Malay and Indonesian dish that consists of chicken marinated in spicy sambal sauce, paired with rice.

The video, posted in November last year, has 2.2 million views and more than 80,000 likes as of Thursday (Jan 11).

Many comments expressed pleasant surprise at how the girl used her hands to eat, while others complimented Mr Shafiq for being a good neighbour.

One viewer said: “I praise your harmonious attitude towards fellow neighbours. Keep up your good attitude towards fellow humans.”

Speaking to TODAY, Mr Shafiq revealed that he had known the girls since their birth and had been acquainted with the family since they moved to Bedok 12 years ago.

Other videos on his TikTok account consists of a collection of heartwarming interactions, one of which shows the two girls doing the “salam” to Mr Shafiq in the morning before they head off to school. 

The girls do so by holding Mr Shafiq’s hand and touching it to their foreheads, an act of respect for elders in the Malay culture. 

Another shows Mr Shafiq entering the other family’s house freely to wish the girls’ mother a happy birthday.

“The fact that I just went to someone’s house, without key or permission or anything, that’s why they (the viewers) are, like, ‘Wow’!”, Mr Shafiq said in a video interview with youth news portal Wekaypoh. 

He also mentions that he has the Vietnamese-Chinese family’s house keys on days that the girls’ parents are away from home for work. 

He told TODAY that the girls sometimes even sleep over in his home.

Mr Shafiq believes that the reason he has gained so many fans on his TikTok account is because viewers love the bond between the trio and that such a “kampung spirit” is not so common now in modern Singapore.

“It’s hard to find (kampung spirit) nowadays living in HDB (public) flats, unlike our parents' time or grandfathers’ time where they lived in kampungs,” Mr Shafiq said.

He said that the bond between the two families is so close that his own mother had taken up the significant task of naming the Vietnamese-Chinese family’s second daughter.

“Her name ‘Elly’ is from my mum,” Mr Shafiq disclosed.

Elly chimes in to say in Malay, “Nama saya Elly”, which translates to “My name is Elly”.

“I want to change my name. I want ‘Elly Ashvin’,” the girl said cheekily, referring to the name of Mr Shafiq’s brother-in-law.

The girl is now learning to speak Malay and can understand the language when Mr Shafiq’s family converses in their mother tongue.

“Datuk busuk,” the girl recites at the mention of Malay, which translates to “grandfather is smelly”.

Citing another example of their tight bond, Mr Shafiq said that when the sisters were left out in a photo-taking session during Hari Raya Puasa, Jenny had burst into tears.

“She really thinks we are one family,” Mr Shafiq said, who expressed his wish to "promote togetherness, racial harmony and love towards one another".

“You don’t need to differentiate (skin) colour. Be nice to others and others will be nice to you,” he added.

Wekaypoh’s video interview with Mr Shafiq and the girls, which was posted on Jan 7, received more than 500,000 views within five days. It also received a positive reception, with many supportive of the close bond between the two families.

One viewer said: “Need more of this HDB kampung spirit.”

Another user commented: “The start of true racial harmony, not just words or in the pledge but real true connection.”

Many viewers recalled similar fond memories of their childhood.

One TikTok user said: “Last time at Tanglin Halt, we had this kind of bond with our Chinese neighbours. But honestly, now we rarely find this type of closeness between neighbours from different races or religions.”

Another TikTok user recalled: “When I was growing up in Ang Mo Kio, my Chinese neighbours were like this. I’ll just go into their house and eat at their house. Miss those days.”