MARAN (Pahang), Aug 16 — The King and Queen delivered a special gift today to Syafirah Hanum Chik, a woman with Down syndrome here — a childhood song titled Tanya Sama Pokok.
Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah sang that song to 23-year-old Syafirah Hanum at her Taman Sri Keramat home after her mother Salmah Ali told Their Majesties that it was her daughter’s favourite song.
Salmah, 59, who is a former kindergarten assistant, said she was stunned when Tunku Azizah started singing the song before asking Sultan Abdullah to join in.
“The royal couple smiled when Syafirah Hanum reacted to the song. I felt honoured,” she said.
“Sultan Abdullah and Tunku Azizah repeatedly told me to be extra patient in taking care of such a special child,” she told reporters.
Syafirah Hanum is one of the three chronically ill residents at Taman Sri Keramat whom Their Majesties visited during their visit to Maran.
Salmah said Tunku Azizah also said that she would gift Syafirah Hanum with colouring books after she was told that her daughter likes to sketch with colours.
Meanwhile, pensioner Mohd Yusof Mohd Idris, 78, said he could not believe it when told by the residents’ association that the royal couple was coming to visit his wife, Som @ Salmah Omar, 71, who is paralysed due to a stroke.
He said he immediately got busy tidying up their house to make it presentable for “the visit of a lifetime”.
“I was not feeling very well myself but all tiredness and aches went away when I heard that the King and Queen were coming to my house. It was like a dream.
“I was touched when Tunku Azizah, who was holding my wife’s hand, felt that the bed was not working well and Sultan Abdullah immediately ordered the health representatives present to check it,” he said. — Bernama
