Woman Spends Raya With Teacher Who Helped Pay Her University Fees 36 Years Ago
"My house was filled with laughter and tears of happiness as everyone took turns chatting with her."
By Aqasha Nalani — 27 Apr 2023, 12:18 PM
A Malaysian woman, Norasiah Jamil, went viral last month after sharing a tearful story of how her Form Five chemistry teacher, Pak Lin Haw, 66, helped pay for her university registration fees
In March, Norasiah wrote in her Facebook post that she had always wanted to talk to her teacher again, and after 36 years, she finally managed to locate Cikgu Pak with the help of netizens.
After weeks of planning to meet with Cikgu Pak, Norasiah finally reunited with the woman during this year's Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations, reported New Straits Times.
Norasiah, who is now a businesswoman, said that she had been in contact with Cikgu Pak and finally got to see her on 23 April, the second day of Aidilfitri.
"It was an emotional moment when Cikgu Pak stepped into my house with her husband. I greeted her before we embraced each other tightly. Several of my friends, including classmates, joined the reunion," said the woman.
Cikgu Pak (fourth from the right) with Norasiah (wearing the red hijab next to her) and her former students at SMK Alor Akar.
Image via Norasiah Jamil (Facebook)Norasiah said that during the reunion, she and Cikgu Pak talked about their memories together at SMK Alor Akar while showing the former teacher photos of them back in high school
"My house was filled with laughter and tears of happiness as everyone took turns chatting with her. Although 36 years might have passed, everything seems to have only happened recently," the woman said.
"I have always been trying to locate Cikgu Pak and even went to my former school to go through the teachers' records, but no one knew her whereabouts. All the pictures I took during my school days were damaged along with my wedding album during the floods which hit my previous house in Sungai Isap Damai here in 2001," she added.
According to Norasiah, after making the Facebook post last month, a friend of Cikgu Pak's husband recognised that the old pictures she uploaded were of her.
A church member from the UK then sent the former teacher's contact details to Norasiah, and she has been in contact with Cikgu Pak ever since.
Previously, Norasiah shared that Cikgu Pak paid for her registration fees to continue her tertiary studies at the University of Technology Malaysia (UTM)
Norasiah graduated from high school in 1987, and while she was ecstatic to receive an offer to study at the university, she knew deep in her heart that it would not be easy for her to attend the institute because she came from a low-income family.
At one point, Norasiah quit her studies because she was not able to pay the university's registration fees.
Not wanting Norasiah's academic journey to end, Cikgu Pak decided to pay for the student's registration fees with her own money, while also cashing out some money from the Parents and Teachers Association (PIBG) funds.
Due to the teacher's support, Norasiah managed to attend UTM and complete her tertiary studies. She then went on to work as an engineer, and is currently running her own plant business.
Cikgu Pak Lin Haw (sitting) with her students at school in 1986.
Image via Norasiah Jamil (Facebook)