KUALA LUMPUR: After saving for over 18 years, a couple's wish to see their children set foot in the holy city of Makkah to perform the haj has finally come true.
Abdul Wahab Md. Saad and his wife, Norani Mohamed Noh, who worked as a private sector employee and a nurse, respectively, saved a portion of their income each month for almost the last two decades into their Tabung Haji accounts, Kosmo reported.
It was a dream they wanted to realise for all six of their children; to perform the haj while they were still young and healthy.
On this recent trip, five of their six children went along with their spouses. But neither of them were able to join.
Their son, Mohamad Fadhzli Abdul Wahab, 29, said that they had been saving up for all their children since 2009 until they turned 18.
"We were all registered (for the haj) simultaneously in 2009 by our parents. They started putting away money for us since we were little every month until we turned 18 years old.
"When we turned 18, we continued to contribute to the savings ourselves until our applications were accepted," said Fadhzli, who is the couple's fourth child.
Nurul Adilla Farhana Abdul Wahab, 36, their eldest child, said that her mother made deductions of at least RM50 every month from her income.
"Our savings started when we were little because our mother intended for all her children to go for haj together," she said.
Money did not always come easy for their family. The couple's eldest son, Mohd Farid Firdaus Abdul Wahab, 35, said that growing up, there were hard times for their family despite having both parents working.
"We used to be poor. My mother started from the bottom and was willing to make small deductions from her salary bit by bit.
"Despite the hardships, my mother persisted. This is the sacrifice of a mother that we often do not realise, the struggles they bear.
"But today, because of their sacrifice, we are able to perform the haj," he said.