Lady, 90, crosses the Causeway for reunion with long-lost daughter

SINGAPORE – Madam Teng Ek Kiew, 90, was sitting in her wheelchair in a lodge foyer looking on the streets of Kuala Lumpur when she was startled by somebody touching her arms. When she realised it was her long-lost daughter, she grasped the lady’s arms as her eyes watered.

It had been 58 years since she final held her daughter, Madam Hamsiah Mohamad.

Having reconnected in September 2022, Madam Teng and 5 of her six youngsters crossed the Causeway on Dec 5 to meet Madam Hamsiah, who was given up for adoption at delivery to a Malay-Muslim household in 1964.

The Straits Occasions reported in September that Madam Teng’s son, Mr Ling Kok Ong, 66, and his spouse, Madam Josephine Ng, 62, tracked down Madam Hamsiah in Bukit Payong, Terengganu, with the assistance of the Malaysian Historical past Affiliation in Dungun.

When requested in regards to the reunion, the reticent Madam Teng smiled, gave a thumbs-up and stated: “She’s grown as much as be an excellent individual.”

Madam Teng, a housewife and a great-grandmother, gave her daughter up for adoption when she was residing in a kampung in Bukit Besi, Terengganu, about 400km from the lodge the place they had been reunited.

In 1964, Madam Teng, who already had 5 different youngsters, gave in to a outstanding Malay household of their kampung after they begged her incessantly for her new child daughter. The household relocated to Singapore in 1969.

After Mr Ling and Madam Ng met Madam Hamsiah on Sept 4 at a espresso store she owns in Taman Tasek, Bukit Payong, they launched Madam Teng to Madam Hamsiah over video calls, and the 2 spoke frequently.