Grad gets scroll from CM
Bittersweet achievement for paralysed Sabahan
KOTA KINABALU: Three weeks before convocation, Fatmah Faisal was seriously injured in an accident that claimed her fiance’s life.
The 23-year-old Bachelor of Psychology graduate from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) was left paralysed at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital here as her university mates collected their scrolls at the annual convocation on Nov 24 to 26.
Fatmah was given morale-boosting support on Friday evening when Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal and UMS vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr D Kamaruddin D Mudin visited her at the hospital.
Shafie, the UMS pro-chancellor, presented the scroll to an emotional Fatmah, who was wearing her graduation cloak at the simple ceremony.
“I hope our little gesture will ease her pain a little as she tries to recover from her injuries.
“By coming here, we hope we have brought some cheer to her. We pray that she will be able to recover fully,” he told reporters yesterday.
Shafie said UMS was also working on assisting Fatmah’s family to ease their burden.
Fatmah, from Kampung Senallang, Semporna, who aspires to be a teacher, was supposed to receive her scroll on Nov 26.
Since the accident on Nov 1, Fatmah has been paralysed neck down and is still unable to speak.
Her 24-year-old fiancé Karbi Ali, who was driving a MyVi, apparently lost control of the vehicle and slammed into a tree along Jalan Pasir, Likas.
Both were trapped and had to be extricated from the wreckage.
According to family members, Fatmah has yet to be told that Karbi was killed in the accident.