Ruwinah wants to utilise her PhD to boost awareness about autism.
Despite losing both parents to Covid-19 within a year of starting her degree programme, Nur Yasmine Hanie Mohd Yunus persevered and completed her studies.
The youngest of four lost her mother in June 2021 and less than a month later, she lost her father.
“My mother was sick for quite some time, so we could already feel that she may not have much time left.
“We also did not want her to suffer for too long,” recalled Nur Yasmine, 24.
She said her father’s death took the siblings by surprise.
Izhan Mohd Yunus taking a closer look at his sister Nur Yasmine’s Dean’s Award medal.
“He was fine the day before his passing and even cooked a meal for me, before he complained about experiencing some pain.
“When the ambulance came to take him to the hospital, he could still walk,” she told StarMetro.
Nur Yasmine said the passing of her parents was very difficult for her family.
“I sent both of them into the ambulance but neither came home. I did not get to say goodbye,” said the property development executive.
Her biggest challenge then was adapting to an independent life.
“I had to learn to be independent and do everything on my own,” said Nur Yasmine.
Thaqif hopes to inspire his Orang Asli village about higher education.
She said support and love from family and friends helped to keep her spirits high.
“They were always there for me,” said the graduate who was awarded a Bachelor of Land Administration and Development with Honours from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), as well as the Dean’s Award for her good results.
“We need to learn to accept that humans will have to leave when their time comes.
“It is okay to be sad, but not for too long. Life goes on,” she said when asked about her advice for those going through a similar tragedy.
She was among more than 7,000 who graduated from UTM during its 68th convocation ceremony in Johor Baru.
Juggling many hats
Also not allowing the pandemic to get the better of him was S. Sasi, who graduated with a Master’s in Human Resource Development.
“I started my Master’s just before the pandemic hit and I had to take a significant pay cut at my job,” he said.
“I did not want to give up on my Master’s, so I took a part-time job to supplement my income.
“It was not easy as I needed to balance my time between work, studies and time with family.”
Laily almost saw everything her family holds dear go up in flames.
The 32-year-old is also a recipient of one-off financial aid from Yayasan Raja Zarith Sofiah Johor.
“I am very grateful to the foundation for its generous RM3,000 study fund.
“It really helped reduce my financial burden and motivate me to continue working hard in my studies,” he said.
The sixth of eight siblings said he wanted to make his family proud.
“I come from a big family and life was not easy for us.
“I was the first person in my family to go to university.
“I want to set a good example for future generations,” he said.
Sasi, who now works as a recruitment manager, said he had also balanced work and studies previously.
“My elder siblings funded my education when I did my Diploma in Risk Management.
“But I got my Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration through Open University Malaysia while holding a job.”
Maroti suffered a minor stroke during his studies.
Rising from the ashes
Laily Hirwati Abdul Wahid did not let losing her house in a fire get in the way of achieving her dreams.
“I was doing my assignment and on the phone with my mother when the fire occurred,” Laily Hirwati, a mother of five, recalled of the incident that happened in 2021.
“I was home with four of my children and my mother-in-law. We started smelling something burnt and the odour became stronger very fast.
“We then saw smoke coming from a room upstairs. Everything happened very quickly.”
She said the fire spread within minutes and the house was filled with heavy smoke.
“Thankfully, we were able to leave the house before it was too late.”
The 45-year-old teacher said that while she was heartbroken to see her house turn into ashes, she was grateful that everyone and her laptop were safe.
“The laptop was a lifeline for me to continue my studies.
“Without that, it may not have been that easy to carry on, as we had online classes during the pandemic.
“We stayed at a mosque in Mutiara Rini for several weeks.
“The day after the tragedy, I attended online class as usual.
“I told myself that I had no reason not to attend classes as I had a laptop, electricity and a roof over my head,” she said.
Laily said she only told her lecturers about the incident a few days later.
“A lecturer casually asked the class if everyone was okay.
“For the first time, I said I was not okay and explained what had happened.
“I received overwhelming support from my lecturers, supervisor and classmates.
“The university gave me as much time as I needed to settle things.
“It was the strong support that I received from them and my family that kept me going,” said the recipient of the Hadiah Latihan Persekutuan (HLP) scholarship.
Not only did Laily Hirwati complete her Master’s in Education (Educational Technology), but she also received the Best Postgraduate Student award after graduating with a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average (CGPA).
Abd Jalil with wife Malida Marjan.
Sharing expertise
For some at the convocation, receiving their scrolls means getting a chance to contribute to the development of their fields.
Dr K. Maroti, 66, hopes to contribute by being in academia.
“I worked in the oil and gas industry until the end of last year, and now I want to start a new phase in academics.
“I aspire to teach and mentor growing talents who are keen to know more about the industry, which I have been in for over four decades,” he said.
Maroti, who hails from India and has been living in Malaysia for over 18 years, said his quest to get his PhD had not been smooth sailing.
“The pandemic slowed down my research progress.
“I suffered some side effects after being vaccinated for Covid-19, forcing me to take about a year off from studies.
“I also experienced a minor stroke during the course of my studies, but it did not affect me much,” said the father of one.Likewise, former Drainage and Irrigation Department civil engineer Dr Abd Jalil Hassan, 62, wishes to pass to others the lessons he learnt over the years.
“Throughout my years in the industry, I have discovered many new and interesting things that I believe are worth sharing.
“That is why I chose to get my PhD in Civil Engineering.
“By doing so, I will be able to publish my research findings with others in the industry and it can serve as a guide for future engineers,” he said.
The father-of-four, who started his PhD in 2016, said he had opted to take early retirement when he was 45 to start his own company.
“I will continue to work closely with the university and contribute where I can for the development of the field.
“I am eager to share my knowledge on flooding, which is the area I researched for my thesis,” said the former assistant project director of the Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel.
Jin Sang (left) and Jin Xuan happy to cheer each other on.
Being a motivation
The graduation ceremony was also special for fraternal twins Teo Jin Sang and Teo Jin Xuan, 22, who graduated with degrees in Physics.
“We get to celebrate our graduation together, something we have always dreamt of but never thought possible.
“We have been in the same classroom since kindergarten. We thought it was unlikely for us to be in the same university.
“But not only did we enter the same university, we even got into the same programme. It was such a relief for us,” said Jin Sang.
Jin Xuan said they had always been each other’s motivators to do well in their studies.
“We do everything together and even have the same supervisor for our final-year project.
Ruwinah wants to utilise her PhD to boost awareness about autism.
“Having my sister with me made things easier, especially since we were taking the same course.
“We rely on each other a lot and our grades are always more or less the same,” she said, adding that both of them also received Dean’s Awards.
For Thaqif Mohd Asri, from Semaq Beri Orang Asli tribe, he hopes to inspire others from his village in Pahang to never give up on their studies.
“The biggest challenge I faced was getting used to learning online during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“However, thanks to support from my family, I completed my International Business degree,” said the 28-year-old who now works with the Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa).
“I always made it a point to revise what I learn in class as often as possible.
“It was very important for me to make sure I did well in my studies,” he said.
Thaqif said while he was not the first in his family or village in Kampung Batu 55, Maran, to get into university, he hoped that he could still inspire others.
For Johor Autistic Children Association president Dr Ruwinah Abdul Karim, her PhD in Education and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) serves as motivation to shine a light on autism.
“There is still a lack of awareness about autism and this is something I hope we can change, so that the children will not be left out.
Maroti suffered a minor stroke during his studies.
“I still come across parents who are not able to accept that their children are autistic, making it more difficult for the children to get the right treatment,” said the 35-year-old who is Penawar Special Learning Centre (PSLC) founder and director.
Ruwinah said there was also a lack of education centres for children with special needs.
“Every year, we see about 9,000 people, mostly children, being diagnosed with autism in Malaysia alone.
“However, we only have a handful of centres for them.
“While there are special needs teachers in schools, it is not enough to cope with the large number of children in need of special care,” she said.
PSLC has more than 25 branches across Malaysia and Indonesia to date, serving thousands of children with autism.
“We still have a long way to go,” Ruwinah said, adding that she hoped society would try to learn more about autism.
