Far away but close to their hearts

 

Retired teacher Tan Keng Hock, 81 (left) celebrating Father's Day with his children through a video call. Looking on is his wife, Tan Nooi Huey, 73 (right). - THOMAS YONG/The Star

JOHOR BARU: Absence makes the heart grow fonder for many on Father’s Day with the continued closure of the Malaysia-Singapore land border because of the pandemic.

Iskandar Mat Judoh, a Malaysian who works as a technician in the city-state, misses holding his only child but is grateful that he can still communicate with the 10-year-old boy on a daily basis.

The 37-year-old said he set aside time each night to talk to his son.

“We are each other’s best friend and I video call him and my wife every day.

“I want my son to know that I am always there for him, no matter how far we are from each other physically.

“Listening to him going on and on about his day during the video calls is the highlight of my day,” he told The Star.

Iskandar said he last met his son in person in October last year when he was able to return home under the Periodic Commuting Arrangement for about 12 days.

“Being away from him is the hardest thing I ever have to do and I know it is also hard on him.

“My wife once sent me my son’s homework in which he was supposed to complete a sentence and write an essay with it. Instead of writing the essay, he wrote just one sentence – that he wanted me to come home.

“That one sentence broke my heart as I saw how much being away from each other had affected him,” he added.

Another Malaysian father working in Singapore, Teow Yee Han, 30, is resigned to spending his first Father’s Day without his nine-month-old daughter, who was born in Kedah on Sept 20 last year.

“My wife and I returned to our hometown about a month before our baby was due and stayed there until she was about five months old.

“In February, we had to be back for work. It was not an easy decision to make but we had no choice.

“We shed tears on our way back to Singapore,” he said, adding that their baby is in the care of his mother-in-law in Alor Setar.

The warehouse store keeper said he and his wife video call his mother-in-law frequently to ask about their girl and catch a glimpse of her and hear her laughter.

“We miss her dearly and yearn to hold her in our arms again but with the pandemic, it is difficult for us to be reunited anytime soon,” said Teow.

For retired teacher Tan Keng Hock, 81, who has two children living in Singapore, one in Kuala Lumpur and another in Germany, being away from them does not stop him from being an important figure in their lives.

“Although they are now adults in their 40s and 30s – one of them even has a child of his own – we still maintain a close relationship and talk to each other frequently,” he said.

Last year, because of the pandemic, his children could not return to celebrate Father’s Day with him, like they used to do.

“But they ordered a cake for me on Father’s Day.

“Being able to video call them, especially on Father’s Day, helps to make me feel close to them,” he added. - Star