Terengganu Man Reunites With Sister Adopted Out To Malay Family After 43 Years
Ling Kok Ong met up with Hamsiah Mohamad at her restaurant at Bukit Payong, Terengganu.
By Jasmine Chea — 06 Sep 2022, 02:58 PM
The reunion between these two long-lost siblings from Terengganu was long overdue but still sweet as they finally reconnected with one another after 43 years on Sunday, 4 September
Ling Kok Ong, 66, who now resides in Singapore, travelled all the way back to Bukit Payong, Terengganu to reconnect with his biological younger sister, Hamsiah Mohamad, 58, after finding out she lives there.
According to Harian Metro, Ling was overjoyed to meet up with Hamsiah after failing to find her many times on his own. He was glad he could reconnect with her and promised to bring their biological mother to see her the next time they came to visit.
"Even though we were separated, we as a family, especially my mother and late father, always remembered Hamsiah and that is why I came to Terengganu in hopes of reuniting with Hamsiah to fulfil my mother's wish (of seeing her again before she passes on)," he said.
At the age of 15, Hamsiah, who was the sixth child out of seven siblings, was adopted out to a Malay couple who had yet to concieve a child of their own
Originally from Bukit Besi in Dungun, Terengganu, the biological family began to drift apart from Hamsiah when they migrated to Singapore.
Due to the separation, it was then Ling, the third sibling, who made it his mission to reconnect with her.
According to Sinar Harian, Ling had made an effort to travel to Bukit Besi last month to see if Hamsiah still resided there. However, he was disappointed to find out that the family had moved to an unknown location and that Hamsiah's adoptive father had passed on.
Therefore, Ling sought the help of Dungun Area Malaysian History Association honorary secretary Wan Mohd Rosli, who became their lifeline in helping him find his sibling.
As luck would have it, a few members of the association knew Hamsiah's nephew. So, Wan asked for the help of the members to put Ling into contact with the nephew. From there, they managed to trace Hamsiah's location and bring Ling to meet with her.
Accompanied by his wife, Josephine Ng, 62, Ling met up with Hamsiah at 10am at an eatery she runs at Taman Tasek, Bukit Payong, coincidentally only an hour away from their childhood hometown.
From left to right: Dungun Area Malaysian History Association honorary secretary Wan Mohd Rosli, Ling Kok Ong, Hamsiah Mohamad, and Josephine Ng at Hamsiah's restaurant in Bukit Payong.
Image via Sinar HarianHamsiah shared the joy her brother felt when both of them were reunited with one another and appreciated her brother's efforts in finding her
She admitted that she did not expect to be reunited with her childhood sibling as it had been so long since they were separated.
"I knew I was adopted at the age of 15 and I didn't think I would ever be reconnected with any of my siblings because I hardly know them now. Praise be to God that I am now found by one of them," Hamsiah commented.
Hamsiah also added that the family she was brought into was a big family. However, despite her being an adopted child, she was treated very well by her adoptive family and was seen as one of them.
Hamsiah now has a family of her own and is a mother of two.
