'True kampung spirit': Neighbours of 23 years cry and hug as one of them moves out
The two, who were neighbours for more than 20 years, sharing a tearful embrace.
PHOTO: Screengrab/TikTok/gina_khazali
PUBLISHED ONAugust 25, 2026 10:30 PMBYHelmy Sa'at
Warm embrace and tears.
That was the emotional scene in a Jurong neighbourhood on Aug 16 when a Malay woman in her 50s handed over her family home after 23 years — and said goodbye to her Chinese neighbours who had become part of her life.
Property agent Gina Khazali, who was handling the sale of the family home, witnessed the tearful farewell and uploaded the scenes in a TikTok video.
The video, posted on Monday (Aug 24), has been viewed more than 1.3 million times and garnered over 94,000 likes as at Tuesday evening.
Story of friendship and community
In the video, the women are seen in a tight embrace, as the tearing Malay woman says goodbye.
Gina said she felt it was a story of friendship and community worth sharing.
"As agents, we're usually focused on the transaction, paperwork and getting everything completed smoothly," she told AsiaOne.
"Seeing my clients and their neighbours getting emotional knowing they would no longer be living next to each other really touched me," she said.
Netizens praise kampung spirit
The emotional farewell also struck a chord with netizens.
Many praised the neighbours’ bond as an example of the kampung spirit they felt was becoming increasingly rare in Singapore.
One netizen described it as "kampung love", adding that "all this is missing now sadly".
Another wrote it was difficult to find neighbours like this today, calling such friendships "very rare."
Others saw the moment as a reminder of Singapore's multicultural identity.
One commenter said the scene "really should have made it into the National Day Rally", describing it as a powerful reminder of the importance of living harmoniously regardless of race, language or religion.
"This is the real Singapore. We Singaporeans are one big family," another wrote.
Another commenter described the farewell as "true kampung spirit", saying the two women must have cared deeply for each other to feel such a strong sense of loss at moving apart.
Some took a lighter view, with one netizen quipping that they could always "video call" to stay in touch.
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