Kisah Noja

I was down with a bad case of cold, flu and cough last week. I felt so breathless while walking to the MRT station that I almost fainted. I had to cancel my classes and took the taxi to the clinic. Thankfully it wasn't asthma but a bad case of 감기. I couldn't even attend the Singapore Book Awards ceremony that evening where my book was a finalist.

Voila, voila... 'Kisah Noja' or The Story of Noja won the best children's book in the Malay language! Quel surpris! Jafri the book illustrator who attended the dinner accepted the award on my behalf. This accidental book which came to fruition in record time (after I returned from my pilgrimage in Makkah) is my first book written in the Malay language. It was published as a favour to the talented Jafri who drew for my other books like 'Kuih' and 'Nasi' books. The book is to honour Nojas and Tok Siaks, unsung heroes who looked after the maintenance of mosques in Southeast Asia. It is also a social history about Radin Mas Mosque which was demolished in 2001.

Alhamdulillah. Thank God for His blessings. When you write sincerely from the heart, the story touches the reader's soul.