CHEE HOI LAN, a former kindergarten teacher, began taking care of Rohana Abdullah over 20 years ago. Rohana, the daughter of an Indonesian woman who was working at Chee’s kindergarten, was left behind in Malaysia at the age of two months when her mother was forced to return to her hometown.
Realising the hardships that may fall upon the child, Chee, now 83, decided to raise Rohana as her own child. Even though she knew raising a child from a different religion wouldn’t be as easy, but that did not stop her from giving Rohana all the care she deserved.
“I loved her as my own daughter,” Chee told the media. “Since she was young, I made sure she ate only halal food and pursued life as a true Muslim. I did my best to raise her that way, and I’m glad I managed to do so till today.”
She continued by saying she would continue to raise the now 22-year-old Rohana “until her last breath”, and that her only wish was to see her get married and live a beautiful life.
Rohana shared that growing up without proper documentation wasn’t easy. Since the age of 12, she has visited multiple government agencies to resolve her citizenship issue however her every attempt was unsuccessful.
Rohana was forced to continue her studies on her own after leaving school in Form 4 by taking private classes, and even sat for her SPM examination as a private candidate. She says she tries to avoid the authorities all the time because she doesn’t have any official identification.
Tormented by her anxiety and depression, she even tried to take her own life. However, she managed to overcome her problems and is currently working as a tuition teacher to support herself.
Rohana’s emotional story caught the attention of netizens, and many came forward to show their support for Rohana’s bid to be recognised as a Malaysian citizen. Even former education minister Maszlee Malik has spoken out about the situation, by saying education is every student’s right and no one should take that away from them.
We hope Rohana will be able to live her life as an ordinary citizen soon and gets the help she deserves.
Watch the full video here.
