PETALING JAYA, May 31 — One of the many things that make our country unique is our togetherness.
One lady is getting some social media attention after Facebook user, Rizal Imran, uploaded a post onto his page last week which is evidence of how united we can be.
“Every Ramadan she comes to the ‘surau’ and pay us for us to read tahlil for her younger brother,
“Although they are from different religions, that shows how much she loved her late brother,” Rizal wrote in the post, which has been shared over 1,200 times on Facebook.
In an interview with Malay language news portal, mStar, Rizal revealed that the woman in his post, Vijayalechumy Shamugam, also known as ‘Aci’, is also his neighbour and that she has been visiting the ‘surau’ in Ulu Klang every year to donate food and drinks.
He said she comes with bags of fruits and a variety of flavoured cordial drinks every year to make it easier for the congregation at the mosque to break their fast before praying.
“But what touched me the most is that she also fills up a form for ‘bacaan tahlil’ for her late brother who was a mualaf (Muslim convert),” said Rizal.
He said that Aci’s younger brother, Abdul Rahman Abdullah passed away a few years ago and not long after his wife did too, so Aci asks the congregation at the ‘surau’ to pray for them.
mStar also reported that Aci revealed that her practice of donating to the ‘surau’ and requesting for tahlil prayers was actually started by her mother.
But, the 56-year-old took over those responsibilities when her mother passed away, and has continuously done so for many years out of love for her brother.
“I do it because I loved my brother so much. We were very close. I miss him even more every Ramadan and Hari Raya,” said Aci.
She added that two of her four children were also Muslim converts and never felt like she had to restrict them from doing so.
“To change religions is their decision, we have to respect it. For me it doesn’t matter what religion they practise as long as they believe and are sincere.” she said
She said that her family never had problems with such matters because they were always eager to get along with people from their community, regardless of race or religion.
Facebook users have been pouring in comments of praise for Aci for her kindness and nobility.
One user, Hanim Rich wrote of how noble she is and wished her and her family a blessed life, while other users kept it simple with comments of love and respect, as well as blessings of guidance for her and her family.
