Treat every day as bonus — Siti Hasmah

KUALA LUMPUR: The Prime Minister's wife, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali yesterday urged Malaysians to perceive everyday as a bonus and spend the days wisely for the good of oneself and others as well.

Dr Siti Hasmah, 92, said everybody should always be thankful and grateful to the Almighty for the life bestowed on them.

“Today we can open our eyes in the morning…every morning is a bonus to us…as long as Allah blesses us with the bonus that we have every morning, it means that we have more and more good work to do,” she said when officiating at the World Senior Citizens' Day 2018 celebration at the University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), here yesterday.

She also drew the attention of the audience to the sacrifices made by six divers of the Fire and Rescue Department (JPBM) Water Rescue Unit who died while searching for a teenager who was feared drowned after falling into a mining pool in Taman Putra Perdana, Puchong on Wednesday night.

“Another group of people who are much younger than us sacrificed their lives to save others,” she said, offering condolences to the family of the divers.

Earlier, Dr Siti Hasmah, who was attired in a pink baju kurung spent more than two hours at the centre doing light exercises together with the program participants who were all aged above 65.

She also described her presence at the event as making her feel “younger” because she could gather around with her “peers” despite having a tight schedule.

“I really feel young today...to be together like this...they played old songs that we used to enjoy when we were young. I look forward for this gathering,” she said.

Dr Siti Hasmah, who was also happy to receive a present in the form of a harmonica, said in jest that she would play the instrument to her husband (Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad), which was greeted with laughter from those present. – Bernama