PETALING JAYA – Retired Sunday Mail editor Sheila Rahman Natarajan was recently named as the October winner of the National Press Club-Macrokiosk Muhibbah Award for her exceptional dedication to the welfare of five stateless children for the past six years.
With the support of friendly neighbours, Sheila has been like a “fairy godmother” to the five, then aged four to 11, and her home has been their refuge, school and sanctuary for all their emotional and physical needs.
Her long journey won the vote of media editors who sat as judges for the award for October.
The National Press Club of Malaysia (NPC), together with enterprise solutions platform provider Macrokiosk, launched the monthly award series in April to recognise any individual, group or organisation that best exemplifies the true spirit of Muhibbah in Malaysia.
The chief executive officer of Macrokiosk, Datuk Kenny Goh, in congratulating Sheila, described her outreach to the five children as an extraordinary act of compassion that continued for over six years.
“Her selfless acts of kindness exemplify the Muhibbah spirit that we, as Malaysians, hold dear. Her unwavering commitment to uplifting the lives of these stateless children is truly commendable,” he said.
Sheila recounted that she first noticed the children roaming aimlessly each day in her neighbourhood back in early 2017.
“Left without their mother’s care and their father struggling to make ends meet, they were confined to a single room that served as their makeshift kitchen, dining area, and bedroom, and they were usually silent which was not a good sign,” she said.
Moved by their plight, Sheila and her husband Abdul Rahman Ishak stepped up to help.
They gained the father’s cooperation and consent to have the children come under their watchful eyes while he worked.
The Rahman family, and their family home warmly took in these five children providing food, shelter, and, most importantly, access to education.
Her intervention has transformed the lives of these children, ensuring they receive the education they rightfully deserve.
All the five children are now enrolled in Dignity Foundation School, an organisation previously honoured with the NPC-Macrokiosk Muhibbah Awards in June 2023.
Despite being older than their peers, all five children bravely coped well with their new educational journey.
The journey to document the children’s status and secure their rightful place in society was another formidable challenge that Sheila undertook.
Starting in 2018, they made countless visits to the Welfare Department and the National Registration Department.
Their efforts led to mandatory court-sanctioned guardianship in 2019.
The citizenship applications for these five stateless children were submitted in July 2022, marking a significant step towards granting them their rightful place as citizens of Malaysia. – The Vibes, November 4, 2023
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