DAYANG Norjihan Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg - the daughter of the Sarawak Chief Minister recently shared a heartwarming story of how her late mother saved the life of a cat named Garfield.
According to Norjihan, she and her mother - the late Puan Sri Datuk Amar Juma’ani Tun Tuanku Bujang found a stray cat in the 1990s when she was still in primary school.
"We decided to make him our pet and we called him Garfield," she said at the closing of the Kuching International Cat Festival 2025 as reported by The Sarawak Tribune in Kuching.
"One day Garfield was hit by a car, and the veterinarian told us he could not be saved.
"We were devastated, and my brother and I cried, but my mother calmly took him home and cared for him with patience and love.
"Amazingly, after three months, Garfield was able to walk again like a normal cat,” she said.
Norjihan shared the story to underline her late mother’s compassion for animals and to encourage society to embrace empathy.
"When compassion and love exist, we can build a society with empathy, good manners and unity," she said.
Norjihan also paid tribute to her late mother, who had officiated the Cat Festival from 2011 until last year, describing her as an inspiration for her family and the wider community.
She called for the establishment of more cat shelters to care for strays and for greater empathy towards anumals - within us and in our children. - September 29, 2025
