The eight-minute commercial, called “The Thief” has also been praised for highlighting the plight of poor students from B40 families in coping with online lessons during the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic.

The video also shows how hard-pressed youths can be rescued and turned away from crime if the community takes time to help them through their dark moments.

Taylor’s University, which produced the video, said the script had nothing to do with the Low Yat Plaza incident in 2015, when a brawl ensued after a 22-year-old man was accused of having stolen a smartphone from the mall, a centre for digital goods.

However, many viewers of the Deepavali commercial were reminded of the incident as the video tells the story of a student who is caught stealing a phone and whose life is turned around by the kindly shopkeeper.

Viewers drew comparisons and speculated if the alleged thief at Low Yat Plaza could have been saved from his brush with the law had he been afforded the same chance as the student in the commercial.

“This clip is inspiring indeed. The Low Yat Plaza suspect could have been helped to become a better person instead of what he went through,” said a viewer, Somasundram. “But more often than not, society does not take into consideration the root causes of incidents that involve delinquents. And the downtrodden B40 families are the victims all the time,”

The video starts with a shop owner catching Raju, a poor schoolboy, stealing a handphone. The shopkeeper, known as Uncle, threatens to call the police but Raju pleads with him to let him go.

“I need the smartphone for my classes, my family has only one but my father works till late at night, thus hindering me from attending classes during the day,” Raju tells Uncle.

His story parallels the difficulties experienced by many rural students during the pandemic when most of the learning and teaching involved virtual classrooms.

“Uncle” offers to lend his phone to Raju on condition that he uses it only in the shop. He later gives him a headset and laptop computer.

He tells Raju: “A lot of unfortunate people from our community have dropped out of school because of poverty and disinterest in their studies. They end up in criminal activities and become gangsters. Only a good education can save the community, it is vital.”

In the end, Raju turns out to be a successful entrepreneur and helps scores of other displaced children, urging the successful ones within the community to help those less fortunate.

Taylor’s University group chief marketing officer Ben Foo said the video draws on various uplifting stories of students, teachers, and parents over the last 18 months, as the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted learning for five million Malaysian students.

The producers also drew inspiration from a 2018 report on the B40 group “which said many of the Indian students in this category were dropping out of schools”.

Last year, Taylor’s Deepavali ad “Curious Kumar” drew more than a million views on all social media platforms.

“The Thief” can be viewed here: YouTube Taylor’s University