Cover image via Stanley YeongMeet Stanley Yeong, he works as a Marine Salvage Diver and a Recreational Pilot. He is also a shining example of a true Malaysian.
Image via Stanley Yeong
Three years ago, when the Rohingyas were drifting in shoddy boats in the Andaman Sea and the Straits of Malacca, Stanley Yeong led a group of KL based activists to help the stranded migrants at sea.
A commendable act of kindness and courage, but that's what this story is about. It's about how this kindhearted man raised his Malay-Muslim foster daughter since she was nine years old.
Image via Stanley Yeong
Stanley recently shared about his experience on Facebook
According to his Facebook note, which starts off with, "Today, I picked up enough courage to share one of my secrets", the little girl is now a grown up woman and is married.
In the past week, [Stanley's Facebook post](https://www.facebook.com/stanley.yeong/posts/10207454957230637) has gone viral as he shared the story of how his handyman and wife perished in a road accident. This caused him to symphatise with the situation of their daughter, as she was left without the care of her parents.
He subsequently fostered the girl and looked after her in terms of her well-being, welfare, and finances. According to the post, Hayati's late father Sudin assisted Stanley when he laid the pipeline for the supply of clean water from Jerantut River to Taman Negara several years ago. Stanley shared in his post that the pipeline was part of a programme by the state government of Pahang to improve the livelihood of those in the rural areas.
Hence, when Sudin and his wife died in a car accident a few years ago, Stanley recognised the responsibility he could play in another person's life. He took the late couple's daughter under his own care, as his own.
Today, Hayati has her own family and runs a food business in Kota Baru with the help of her in-laws. But her's isn't a smooth-sailing story as she encountered several struggles while growing up.
Image via Stanley Yeong
Stanley writes that it took him "hours deliberating whether to share this secret" of his. After giving it much thought and seeing how Yati is with him now, he decide to share this story thinking that others who will read this could be encouraged to do good in their life.
It's important to note that Stanley was in no way obligated to take Yati under his care when her parents died. But he knew what it's like to grow up without one's parents.
Stanley lost his own parents when he was young and grew up in an orphanage house. Perhaps it was his own life story that caused him to have compassion for another child who was orphaned.
