KOTA SAMARAHAN: About 20 years ago, Ngu Ee Kiong, 59, decided to quit his job as a lorry driver at a timber company in order to carry his daughter to school everyday.
His sacrifices and efforts paid off today when he saw his daughter, who suffered from Spiral Muscular Atrophy, received her scroll after completing her Master in Economics and Business from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS).
His daughter Nyok Ping, 28, was born with such disability, where she could not move around and had to depend on a wheelchair.
“I can't walk and my hands can't even carry anything more than 5kg. It was very tough for me and my family.
“We had gone through a lot of challenges and I can't recall how many times that I wanted to give up,” said Nyok Ping.
“My father quit his job as lorry driver at a timber site in Sibu when I reached Year Six. My mother could not to carry me anymore as I was getting too heavy,” she said.
Since then, Nyok Ping said her father started selling 'kuih' at the market and coffee shops, to earn money and make time for his children.
Nyok Ping was among 4,276 graduates at UNIMAS’ 20th Convocation ceremony, which begins today.
When asked to comment on his feeling of his daughter's achievement, Ngu was fighting to hold back his tears.
“I am happy but when I think about how tough the journey (to reach this stage) and how much difficulties my daughter had faced, I'm still very sad,” he said while whipping away his tears.
Nyok Ping also praised UNIMAS for continuously improving facilities for its disabled students.
“It's a definitely a OKU-friendly campus now.” she added.