Thanks to donors, two-year-old girl may hear
KUCHING: A two-year-old in dire need of a cochlear implant may just get her wish after Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi handed over RM50,000 from a donor.
Earlier, a public appeal for Noor Batrisyia Ramlan raised RM67,000, well short of the RM120,000 needed for the operation.
Dr Ahmad Zahid said Piasau assemblyman Datuk Sebastian Ting informed him about Noor Batrisyia condition.
“He appealed to me for help and I was able to obtain assistance from a concerned donor.
“It’s important that her condition is treated as soon as possible.
“If there is any delay, the risk will be higher,” he said after presenting the donation to Noor Batrisyia’s parents upon arriving at the Kuching International Airport.
Ting, who is Sarawak Cochlear Implant Society chairman, said he would raise the remaining RM3,000.
He said the procedure would be done at Miri Hospital at the end of the month or early next month, depending on the specialist’s schedule.
“I’d like to thank everyone who has made donations. We managed to raise the funds through newspapers, Facebook and friends,” he said.
Noor Batrisyia’s father Ramlan Abdul Hamid said the little girl could only hear a little in her left.
“She was born with this condition,” he added.
“Hopefully, after the operation she will be able to hear and learn to speak.”
Earlier yesterday, Dr Ahmad Zahid received a courtesy call from his Vietnamese counterpart, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh, who is on a three-day official visit to Malaysia.
He said Malaysia and Vietnam were aiming to increase bilateral trade and investment to RM64.42bil by 2020.
This target was set following the MalaysiaVietnam Strategic Partnership agreement that was signed in 2015.
Total trade and investment between Malaysia and Vietnam last year stood at RM44.24bil.
Dr Ahmad Zahid said the relationship between both countries continued to strengthen since diplomatic relations were established 44 year ago.
This is Truong’s first visit to Malaysia since he was appointed to his current position on April 9 last year.