Zaitoon Othman recalls giving shelter to neighbours during May 13

These neighbours of hers had sought her help because they were afraid to stay in their own homes despite a 24-hour curfew being in place.

“They (neighbours) asked for help because they were scared. They felt unsafe. There were Chinese housewives who came to me for help because their husbands were abroad,” recalled the 80-year-old Zaitoon, the country's first female deputy public prosecutor.

Zaitoon was a magistrate in 1969 and was elevated to a Sessions Court judge a year later.

She had risked her life and that of her husband by providing shelter to the neighbours, mostly women and children.

But she believed that upholding humanitarian values is the most powerful recipe to maintaining harmony in a plural society.

“During the curfew, I had to go to court to handle cases. The police escorted me for a week as the situation was dangerous then,” she said in an interview for a special Bernama documentary, Rukun Negara: A Nation United.

The two-episode documentary was produced by Bernama in conjunction with the Rukun Negara Golden Jubilee for broadcast between Aug 31 and Sept 19 by BernamaTV on Channel 502 ASTRO, Njoi 502, UnifiTV 631 and MyFreeView 121, as well as BernamaTV's official Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Zaitoon, who is a council member of the Sime Darby Foundation, said that besides accommodating the neighbours at her home, she also helped buy daily necessities such as milk and food for them as movement was restricted due to the emergency in force.

A modest Zaitoon downplayed her deeds, not wanting to be referred to as a hero, and said others would have done the same.

“To live in a society, we got to have noble values, and the sincerity to help others in need,” she said, adding that safety and security were uppermost on everyone’s mind then.

On the Rukun Negara, Zaitoon said it was formulated to unite the races.

“Due to the racial crisis, particularly in Kuala Lumpur, there was a bit of friction. I believe that was one of the reasons that the Rukun Negara was instituted. It was to unite the races.

“Subsequently, I saw the people taking efforts to be together and to relate to each other, no matter what race or religion they belong to,” she said.

Zaitoon said there is a need for the present generation to eliminate racial prejudice, and cultivate or nurture love in the society regardless of religion and race.

The importance of respecting others and the need to maintain a harmonious society must be instilled in children from an early age, she said.

"During my school days and after I left school, I think there was good interaction among the races. Everyone was together, never looking at others like they are from another race. We looked at ourselves as Malaysians," she said.

Zaitoon said schools also play a role in explaining to students the importance of the Rukun Negara because the spirit of patriotism and love for the country is not something that can exist on its own in each individual.

“It has to be nurtured in students so that they can practise the noble values ​​in their daily life What is emphasised in the Rukun Negara should be practised. It's very important, especially for today’s young generation which is so exposed to the Internet.

“They are also exposed to the negative effects of using technology, resulting in a tendency for them to make sensitive statements that offend or annoy other races. This has to be avoided,” she said.

Zaitoon always helps others, regardless of who they are or what religion or race they belong to. She is active in various organisations and associations which she has been involved in over the past 50 years.