By Norrasyidah Arshad
RAWANG, July 23 — The eldest child of a couple who succumbed to Covid-19 last week vowed to keep her seven siblings under her custody.
Nazurah Nabilah Benyajee, 19, said she will do her best to look after and educate her siblings aged between four and 18 years old.
“All of us will live here (at their family house). I do not want us to be separated and I will ensure they receive the best education even though without our parents.
“I did not cry in front of my siblings as I am afraid they will be affected and worried. I have to be strong and I do not want them to feel the loss,” she said during a visit by the Selangor Zakat Board (LZS) and Menteri Besar Selangor (Incorporated) or MBI.
Nazurah, who just completed her first semester in Diploma in Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Politeknik Mersing in Johor, lost her father, Benyajeed Bernie, 45, last Friday followed by the passing of her mother, Noraini Ibrahim, 43, two days later.
Delving further, Nazurah said she had expected her mother would succumb to the virus as she was in a critical condition and being treated for a long time.
However, she was shocked when her father died first as he was in a good condition and recovering from the virus.
“On (last) Friday morning, the doctor informed us that the ventilator will be taken off my father, however, he was pronounced dead in the evening. As for my mother, she was still in a critical condition after being put into a coma at the end of last month and she passed away two days later.
“The (Covid-19) infection started on June 16 from my mother who worked in a factory in Rawang. Later on, my father, aunt, four siblings and I were also infected,” she said.
Nazurah received a donation of four tablets from MBI and it will be used by her siblings for home-based learning and teaching (PdPR).
“All this while, we do not own any gadgets and I will monitor the PdPR process of my siblings as we already have it now,” she said.
Meanwhile, LZS will continue to channel the monthly asnaf assistance to the siblings.
Its chief executive officer Saipolyazan M Yusop said the siblings will also receive education aid, food and Hari Raya assistance.
“The family has been a registered asnaf since 2014 and after this, the monthly assistance will be given to the children to ensure that their well-being is taken care of.
“At the same time, LZS will continue to monitor the needs of these children as they are still young and the road is long. We will look into the assistance they need,” he said.
He added that LZS has handed over the mutual benevolent (Khairat Kematian) payment of RM7,000 apart from the house’s rental payment of RM650.
Earlier, Saipolyazan visited the eight orphaned siblings aged between four and 19 years old after their parents passed away due to Covid-19, on July 16 and 18, respectively.
