NST 2008/05/21
Full marks for super-mumBy : Sulaiman Jaafar
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Full marks for super-mumBy : Sulaiman Jaafar
Email to friend Print article
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http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Wednesday/National/2245805/Article/index_html
Fatimah Yusof, (seated, centre) sharing a light moment with seven of her 16 children at her home in Kg Padang Bongor, Kota Baru yesterday.
KOTA BARU: If there was a prize for successfully raising a large family, Fatimah Yusof, 58, would surely win. She and her late husband Ismail Abdullah had 16 children - 11 of them boys.
And despite living on the meagre RM400 a month allowance Ismail received as the imam of the Padang Bongor mosque, each one received a tertiary education or is studying now. Since her husband died eight years ago, Fatimah has raised all of them on her own.She got married at 16 and had her first child a year later. After that, she gave birth to the rest until she was 42.The couple eked out a living by planting vegetables around the house and rearing chickens and ducks.
"The children weren't fussy about food and ate whatever was on the table. They always listened to us."Their father was only strict about the boys going to the mosque with him for prayers and performing other religious obligations," she said.Her sixth child, Mohd Rusli Ismail, 32, a lecturer at the Keningau Teachers' Institute in Keningau, Sabah, said his parents did not push him and his siblings to study hard."I think we all understood our responsibilities. We seldom went out to play or watch television." Mohd Rusli is now doing his master's in Arabic at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). Four of his siblings are there as well - Mohd Yazid, 24, is studying economics; Siti Sarah, 23, Arabic; Siti Aishah, 22, psychology and Siti Zakiah, 21, is doing her matriculation.The eldest, Lukman, 41, graduated from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM); Mohd Azmi, 39, Universiti Sains Malaysia; Mohd Jurik, 38, UiTM; Mohd Sobri, 36, IIUM; Mohd Khairul Bahari, 34, Jordan; Khairul Anuar, 30, UiTM; Mohd Juneed, 28, Jordan; Mohd Shahruddin, 27, and Mohd Abdul Hadi, 26, Al-Azhar University in Egypt. The two youngest girls, Radhiah, 18, and Nor Suhaila, 17, are studying at the Maahad Muhammadi here. Most of the children are married and living all over the country, while the younger ones are at university."I'm with the two youngest children, mostly. The last time we all managed to get together was for Hari Raya two years ago," said Fatimah, who has 20 grandchildren.
KOTA BARU: If there was a prize for successfully raising a large family, Fatimah Yusof, 58, would surely win. She and her late husband Ismail Abdullah had 16 children - 11 of them boys.
And despite living on the meagre RM400 a month allowance Ismail received as the imam of the Padang Bongor mosque, each one received a tertiary education or is studying now. Since her husband died eight years ago, Fatimah has raised all of them on her own.She got married at 16 and had her first child a year later. After that, she gave birth to the rest until she was 42.The couple eked out a living by planting vegetables around the house and rearing chickens and ducks.
"The children weren't fussy about food and ate whatever was on the table. They always listened to us."Their father was only strict about the boys going to the mosque with him for prayers and performing other religious obligations," she said.Her sixth child, Mohd Rusli Ismail, 32, a lecturer at the Keningau Teachers' Institute in Keningau, Sabah, said his parents did not push him and his siblings to study hard."I think we all understood our responsibilities. We seldom went out to play or watch television." Mohd Rusli is now doing his master's in Arabic at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). Four of his siblings are there as well - Mohd Yazid, 24, is studying economics; Siti Sarah, 23, Arabic; Siti Aishah, 22, psychology and Siti Zakiah, 21, is doing her matriculation.The eldest, Lukman, 41, graduated from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM); Mohd Azmi, 39, Universiti Sains Malaysia; Mohd Jurik, 38, UiTM; Mohd Sobri, 36, IIUM; Mohd Khairul Bahari, 34, Jordan; Khairul Anuar, 30, UiTM; Mohd Juneed, 28, Jordan; Mohd Shahruddin, 27, and Mohd Abdul Hadi, 26, Al-Azhar University in Egypt. The two youngest girls, Radhiah, 18, and Nor Suhaila, 17, are studying at the Maahad Muhammadi here. Most of the children are married and living all over the country, while the younger ones are at university."I'm with the two youngest children, mostly. The last time we all managed to get together was for Hari Raya two years ago," said Fatimah, who has 20 grandchildren.
