BATU PAHAT: Two years ago, Nur Irdina Ismail made a digital scrapbook on the late Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, and since then, she has acquired a profound admiration for the statesman.
The 12-year-old pupil of Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Penghulu Salleh, Simpang Lima, near here, said she made the digital scrapbook of "Tun Dr Ismail" in 2021 for a competition organised by the Johor State Education Department.
"It took me about a week to complete the scrapbook under the guidance of then history teacher Saodah Ahmad who is now my school headmaster," she told Bernama when met at her home in Kampung Gombak near here recently.
In addition to her history teacher, Nur Irdina credited her school counsellor Samsiah Jamalludin, as well as her parents Marina Mohamed Raif, 42, and Ismail Awang Lipah, 61, with helping her create the scrapbook.
The pupil said she decided to choose Dr Ismail, who happened to have the same name as her father, after reading about the national unity figure's story.
According to Nur Irdina, she admired Dr Ismail because, in her opinion, he was a person of great wisdom, honesty, integrity and firmness and was dedicated to serving the country.
She also respects Dr Ismail for his determination to work despite being advised by his doctor to retire for health reasons, particularly after the May 13 incident, in his attempts to unite people of different races and restore peace in the country.
"Making the scrapbook was a challenge because I needed to do everything online, but my mother's laptop broke down in the middle of my research.
"Fortunately, I was able to submit the draft to my teacher and finished it on time," said Nur Irdina, who was also selected as a student mentor (Student Leader Board) at her school.
The second of three siblings who has a deep interest in the history subject, said that in addition to the scrapbook contest, she had participated in more than 10 competitions since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country.
Meanwhile, For Saodah, she was proud of Nur Irdina's achievement and her dedication to taking part in various online competitions representing SK Penghulu Salleh. --BERNAMA