A new addition into the family is always a good thing and it is a call for celebration!
However, this dad from Singapore couldn’t be there when his new daughter took her first breath because of the Movement Control Order.
According to Free Malaysia Today, Singaporean engineer Ahmad Abdillah Haron wanted to be by his Malaysian wife’s side when she gave birth but he didn’t have that chance.
Ahmad, like many Singaporeans, lives in Johor and commutes to Singapore every morning for work. After receiving news of the MCO, he rushed back home on 17th March and wanted to take his wife and children to live with his parents in Singapore. However, when they reached the border, the queue to get to the other side was long and it forced them to take a u-turn.
He stayed the night in Malaysia and went back to work in Singapore the next day. He thought he could wait out the two weeks (first phase of MCO) in Singapore but the MCO kept getting extended.
“I would have stayed behind (in Johor) if I had known the MCO would be extended for so long.”
His wife gave birth on 20th April and he was especially sad that he couldn’t recite the azan to his daughter when she was born. (The recitation of Azan is something similar to Christian baptism.)
Their newborn daughter is their third child with their eldest being 10 years old and the middle child one year old. After Ahmad’s wife gave birth, she was very weak. In addition to that, their baby daughter had a high fever and was kept in the hospital for three days.
In order to be with his family, Ahmad made numerous appeals to many parties including and not limited to Singapore’s foreign ministry, the Malaysian High Commission in Singapore, the Malaysian Immigration Department and the National Security Council. He even wrote a message to PM Muhyiddin on Facebook but it was to no avail.
Ahmad was told by Malaysian officials that as a Singaporean, he can only enter Malaysia on a long-term social pass, which would take from six months to a year for approval. Previously, he used 30-day social visit passes to be with his family.
“My wife is strong but I know she wishes I was there. I know she has been sad and worried.”
Ahmad’s wife also told him that whenever their one-year-old toddler hears the sound of a motorcycle, he would excitedly go to the door. When he finds out that it is not his father, he would be disappointed.
Ahmad says that there are many others who share the same problem as him and he hopes that the Malaysian government will be able to give them some leeway.
That is truly a very sad thing to hear. A woman who just gave birth definitely needs her husband by her side to support her. We hope that things will work out for this couple!
Also read: Singaporean Taxi Driver Who Lives in Malaysia Has Been Sleeping In His Taxi Since the MCO
