KUALA LUMPUR, May 25 — Want to help reduce Malaysia’s federal government debt of RM1 trillion but don’t know where to start?

Well, one person who has decided to do her bit is Nik Shazarina Bakti.

The 27-year-old legal officer at Sisters in Islam (SIS) has just launched a "Please Help Malaysia” campaign on GoGetFunding.

"What triggered me to initiate on the fundraising page to crowd-fund was when I recently read about a guy from Batang Berjuntai who gave RM100 in two RM50 bills to the government as his part to reduce the debt.

"I was thinking about myself where I am from KL and am fortunate enough to work in SIS. I figured why not do something as I will be playing my part as a proud citizen of Malaysia?” she told Malay Mail in a brief interview.

She said she got the idea from fundraisers by those suffering from cancer and other illnesses.

"The downside was that there are some Malaysians who don’t believe in my efforts and have called it a scam.

"I’m stunned, as I see this effort as the most minimum that I can do for my country,” she added.

She wrote in an accompanying post on the crowdfunding page that she hopes to convince like-minded altruistic souls — both from Malaysia and "the rest of the world” — to contribute to her (and the country’s) cause.

In her appeal, she referenced the time when Malaysians gave up their jewellery, money and valuables so that Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj and the then-government could raise enough funds to travel to London and secure the country’s independence.

"Let’s do it again! And this time, WE are doing it! We can tell our children and grandchildren of this initiative that we all took part in to save Negaraku Malaysia,” Nik Shazarina wrote.

She has pledged that all proceeds will go to the government at the end of the campaign, which will run until July 31, 11.59pm UTC.

At time of writing, the campaign has raised just over US$3,600 of its US$100,000 goal with 92 backers.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng confirmed yesterday that Malaysia’s total debts amounted to RM1.087 trillion, or 80.3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), at the end of last year after official debt, contingent liabilities and lease payments for Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) were tabulated together.