After 24 years, woman reunites with birth mum on Hari Raya
Hari Raya was extra special this year for this Malaysian woman.
Madam Fatehah Mohd Ali's 15-year desire to be reunited with her birth mother came true when they embraced at a bus station in Kuala Ketil, Kedah, on Friday (July 17).
Madam Fatehah, 24, told Harian Metro that she cried "tears of joy" when she saw her birth mother, Madam Noor'aini Hashim, 49.
"No words can fully describe the happiness of hugging my birth mother," she said.
According to the report, Mdm Fatehah had first realised that she was adopted when, at age nine, she noticed that the registered name of her birth father was different from that of her adopted father's.
The Harian Metro report does not state where or how she spotted this discrepancy.
Despite knowing that she was adopted, she did not actively seek out her birth parents because she did not want her adopted parents to get upset.
"I didn't want to hurt the feelings of my adopted father so I buried the desire to find and meet my birth mother until I got married in 2013," said Mdm Fatehah
With the help of her husband, she went out to seek her birth mother, first through Malaysia's Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (National Registration Office) and then later through a blog, Siakap Keli.
PHOTO: FACEBOOK
Then in May 2015, she received good news through a Facebook friend, who had realised Madam Noor'aini was the woman that Madam Fatehah was looking for.
Through that friend, she was able to call her birth mother for the first time on May 24.
They made arrangements to meet up on the first day of Hari Raya in Kuala Ketil.
Madam Noor'aini said she decided to give up her daughter for adoption in 1991 because she felt that she would not be able to provide her with a good life, as she and her husband were living in a slum then.
"After all these years, I never thought that I would meet my mother again," said Madam Fatehah, who spent the first day of Hari Raya enjoying her birth mother's cooking.
"I'm thankful that I am able to fulfill my wish."
Sources: Harian Metro, Siakap Keli
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now