Abang Johari (third right) witnesses as his wife Juma’ani (second right) hands over contribution to Misnu (third left). — Photos by Muhammad Rais Sanusi
KUCHING: The Sarawak government is committed to assisting the needy community, especially orphans and organisations such as the Orphans Welfare Organisation of Malaysia (Peryatim) Sarawak.
In stating this, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg noted that in the case of Peryatim, it was in line with the wishes of the late Puan Sri Laila Taib, who had been an early patron of Peryatim, and the late Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman, who had been Peryatim’s chairman and was former assistant minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Islamic Affairs).
Abang Johari (standing, fifth left), Misnu (standing, fourth left) and Peryatim children look on as Juma’ani (standing, sixth left) and other distinguished guests cut a cake in conjunction with Mother’s Day.
“The late Laila Taib and Daud Abdul Rahman were the biggest contributors to Peryatim and its objective of caring for the welfare of orphans in Sarawak. Now, this effort is being continued by my wife Datin Patinggi Datuk Amar Juma’ani Tun Tuanku Bujang, who is the current patron of Peryatim.
“We hope that with this responsibility, the effort of caring for the less fortunate such as the children in Peryatim will be carried on well,” Abang Johari said in his speech after breaking the fast and holding prayers with the children of Peryatim at the Laila Taib Welfare Complex here on Sunday night.
Abang Johari added that he knew that the assistance given to Peryatim was meaningful for them and encouraged them to succeed.
“I was told that many Peryatim children have succeeded in life, and some have gone on to become engineers, lawyers and graduates in their respective fields. Some have even gone overseas to places like Holland and Singapore to work.
“Their success should be a motivation to the current Peryatim children, as this only proves that Peryatim is capable of producing excellent students as a result of the government’s support and discipline from the Peryatim administration. I hope that Peryatim children will study hard so they can change their lives as well as help the government develop our beloved country,” he said.
Meanwhile, Peryatim chairman Datu Misnu Taha divulged in his speech that there were about 332 orphans under Peryatim throughout Sarawak, with 134 in Kuching, 80 in Bintulu, 63 in Sibu and 55 in Miri.
He also stated that being classified as an orphan was not an excuse in achieving the best in life.
“At Peryatim, we always create opportunities for the children to study and gain knowledge, and we encourage them to want to succeed. These are the aspects that we stress on so our children can succeed and further their studies.
“In fact, one of the Peryatim children managed to further their studies in Asasi Sains at the Labuan Matriculation while another has furthered their studies in Information Technology at the Kuching Polytechnic,” Misnu said.
During the function, Abang Johari and Juma’ani handed out contributions from the Association of Wives of State Ministers, Assistant Ministers and State Assemblyman (Sabati) and the Petra Jaya Welfare Association to Peryatim Kuching.