Love blooms for elderly couple studying together
IPOH: Age is no barrier for a couple who got married while studying at the al-Barakah Education Centre here.
Former religious school supervisor Hussain Abdul Rahman, 84, married Kamsiah Adam, 69, during an “akad nikah” ceremony at the religious school located in Kampung Manjoi here yesterday. Their family members and friends joined the joyous occasion.
Kamsiah, from Ampang, Selangor, said she believed her marriage to Hussain, from Pontian, Johor, was “arranged by God after we met each other in March”. “We are in the same class. “We met two months before Ramadan. He was a new student while I’ve been here for three years,” she said.
Kamsiah has five children and four grandchildren.
Asked on her reasons for marrying Hussain, she said: “He seemed like a decent man. ”
She said they will continue with their studies at the centre as long as they are healthy.
Kamsiah thanked school principal and popular motivational speaker Datuk Kazim Elias and their family and friends for their blessings and support.
Hussain, a former religious school supervisor with the Johor Education Department, said he felt lonely after arriving here to pursue his studies.
“I felt that if I have a wife to accompany me, I can be more at peace when I study here,” he said. This is Hussain’s third marriage. “My first wife, whom I was with for 50 years, died many years ago.
“My second marriage sadly didn’t work out,” said the father of seven and grandfather of 18.
Hussain said his children had told him to stay with them. But he felt that he will be living a mundane life if he did so.
“That was why I chose to contin- ue my studies here,” he added.
Kazim jokingly said that he should take the credit for bringing Hussain and Kamsiah together.
“Hussain is from Johor. He began his studies a few months ago,” he said.
“He looked lonely and I felt that someone should look after him. So I introduced Kamsiah to him. It’s good that Kamsiah is willing to look after Hussain now.”
Kazim said this was the sixth marriage that had taken place at the education centre.
“We have had marriages between elderly students here before. The last one took place last year.
“Hussain is the oldest student we have here,” he added.
Kazim said Hussain paid for the wedding expenses.
“We usually sponsor weddings here but we couldn’t this time around due to the financial situation. Hussain’s family paid for the wedding,” he added.