Muslikah, 92, an inspiration to haj pilgrims
MECCA: Muslikah Abd Kadir may have been scared to face cameras and be interviewed by the media, but she is an inspiration to other haj pilgrims.
Muslikah, 92, from Kampung Parit 5 in Sungai Sumun, Bagan Datuk, Perak, is one of the oldest Malaysian pilgrims here. She is accompanied by her niece, Jaimah Selamat, 62.
“I am thankful to be here in the Holy Land. Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God),” she said at the Zwar Al Bait Hotel.
Seated timidly on a sofa as she was surrounded by cameras and tape recorders, her first reaction to a question was: “Takutlah (I’m scared).”
She told the media where her hometown was, that her children were healthy and she had come here with her niece. Every reply ended with thanks to God.
“Syukur, alhamdulillah,” she said repeatedly, as other pilgrims, curious, inched closer to see who was getting the media’s attention. Everyone reacted with admiration when told of Muslikah’s age.
She is neither wheelchair-bound nor uses a cane, but walks with Jaimah’s help.
Jaimah said her aunt would cook and did chores herself at her home in Perak.
“The food is good. I have an appetite. “Anything I eat is tasty. Alhamdulillah. I am happy to be here,” Muslikah said.
She said there was no need for her children to worry about her.
Jaimah said her aunt used a wheelchair
to circle the Kaaba during umrah, but she refused the normal practice of hiring someone to push her aunt during the worship.
“I wanted to push the wheelchair myself so that she can treasure the experience of performing tawaf.
“While I push the wheelchair, I can tell her that ‘we are in front of the Kaaba now. We are doing tawaf’.”
Jaimah, too, was thankful that her aunt was in good health and able to make the long journey here to perform the haj.
She said Tabung Haji staff were helpful and gave special attention to elderly pilgrims like Muslikah.