AN ELDERLY Chinese woman who was known for raising an abandoned Indonesian baby in accordance to the Islamic faith, had received the 2022 Perdana Maulidur Rasul award.
According to a report by FMT, as the award is usually presented to Muslims who have contributed significantly to Malaysia however, retired kindergarten teacher, Chee Hoi Lan was shortlisted as one of six candidates qualified and subsequently dubbed as the “Ibu Sejati-Keluarga Malaysia” icon.
Chee had raised her adoptive daughter Rohana Abdullah by herself as a Muslim as she was abandoned at two months old by her mother who was an Indonesian domestic worker at the same kindergarten Chee taught at.
As she was raising her adoptive daughter, she realized that race and religion will be a difficult scenario to navigate hence she took measures to ensure Rohana was fully educated in her Islamic faith by signing her up for Kelas Asas Fardu Ain (Kafa) with her own money and a lot of help from acquaintances.
Chee’s greatest wish is to see Rohana getting married before she passes on.
Rohana is now pursuing computer science at Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) after receiving a letter granting her a Malaysian citizenship in April from home minister Hamzah Zainudin after years of struggling with applying for it since 2016.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had contacted her previously offering assistance with her documents after hearing of her citizenship issue.