Jabir Meftah, a man who wears many hats, got his start in environmental activism through an unusual circumstance. It was a moment before his finals when he took time to reflect and refocus that sparked his interest in youth activism with an environmental focus. Today, the final-year chemical engineering student, who also works as an actor, model, and host, leads Youth Care Malaysia, an organisation that aims to rally young people around helping others and the environment, as well as train youth leaders to continue building a better future.
participate in a #KutipSampahChallenge. We went to the car park near our university and began collecting trash but there was so much of it. We weren’t comfortable with what we were seeing and vowed to collect more trash after our finals and we continued to do so and encouraged more people to join.”
“All my life, I had been my own greatest barrier, but I knew I had to be better, more empathetic, and more compassionate. I needed to care about something bigger than myself. So I became a passionate activist for the environment and started championing vulnerable communities,” said Jabir.
His drive to inspire and mobilise others led to an invitation from Her Majesty, The Queen of Malaysia to clean up Pantai Sepat in Kuantan, Pahang. He saw how effective and empowering campaigns like this could be here. Inspiringly, he established Youth Care Malaysia, a youth-led organisation that empowers and mobilises young people to care for the environment and society. To date, the organisation has recruited over 4,000 volunteers for 57 projects across the country, including disaster relief missions, workshops, seminars, tree planting programmes, clean-up, feeding homeless people, and intellectual discourse.
Jabir is also Malaysia’s changemaker for Samsung Electronics’ regional brand campaign, #TeamUnstoppable, which empowers Southeast Asia’s Gen Zs and millennials to face challenges head-on and reach new heights. Jabir hopes to inspire his peers to be significant in their endeavours in life, so that they can contribute to the solution that the future will require.
“It’s sad to see many young people who do not know what they are capable of. Youth Care aims to bring them together, to empower them with the skills and experience and mobilise them to be active advocates that will make the future a better place!” said Jabir.
In addition to Jabir, #TeamUnstoppable includes five other inspiring young changemakers who are passionate about gaming, food, sustainability, social good, education, and fashion, and it encourages youth from across the region to share their own inspiring stories and galvanise others into action. They are:
- Jason Chua from Singapore who, at the height of the pandemic, gave out thousands of free meals to hardest-hit Singaporeans, and today continues to make a difference by imparting valuable life skills and providing employment to those in need at his now expanded F&B business.
- Karla Golosinda a Filipina gaming content creator who uses her platform to raise funds for students affected by natural disasters and raise awareness, and garner support for issues surrounding animal conservation and female empowerment.
- Jerome Polin from Indonesia, who shares his love for Mathematics through engaging videos to inspire youths to reach greater heights and help support the education system in his home country.
- Chau Bui from Vietnam who is on a mission to build a more inclusive and accountable fashion industry be leveraging on her social media network to promote health, wellness and sustainability efforts.
- Neng Sarun who works to mobilise veterinary teams to champion mindful pet ownership in Thailand to improve the quality of life for animals in rural areas.
#TeamUnstoppableMY22
Jabir is spearheading the #TeamUnstoppableMY22 campaign in Malaysia, encouraging young people to share their unstoppable stories on TikTok until October 12, 2022. Participants’ videos must include stories about the obstacles they faced and how they overcame them with the help of Samsung, as well as the hashtag #TeamUnstoppableMY22 and the tag @samsungmalaysia.
On October 20, 2022, Samsung will announce three winners. The winner of the first prize will receive a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 5G 128GB to continue capturing their unstoppable moments. The second and third place winners will each receive a Galaxy Watch5 40mm and a Galaxy Buds2Pro.
Jabir’s inspiring story on changing for the better is featured in a three part video series. You can watch them here:
Episode One: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysLYqj_-XAc
Episode Two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W1ZZSXYEiQ
Episode Three: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTy8kWsBpXI
For more details on the #TeamUnstoppableMY22 campaign, visit: www.samsung.com/my/teamunstoppable