KUALA LUMPUR: An emotional Khairy Jamaluddin admitted that reading Barry M. Prizant’s book, titled “Uniquely Human” was an eye opener for him, and the book brought him closer to his second child, Timor Abdullah.
At a book review program in Petaling Jaya yesterday, the Youth and Sports Minister said that Prizant’s book on autism made him realise how special his child was, in ways that he never saw before, according to a Malay daily.
“This book changed my life. It changed how I approached my own son and how to completely understand him without trying to change him to be like other kids,” said Khairy.
Khairy, choked on emotion, stressed how important the book was to him, which he said highlighted ways for him to empathise with his special and unique son.
He said, “I am sorry for being a bit emotional today about my son, but I didn’t get why he was that way.
“But this book taught me to see things through his point of view and understand his feelings.”
Married since 2001, Khairy and his wife, Nori Abdullah Badawi have three sons, Jibreil Ali, 9 years old, Timor Abdullah, 8, and Raif "Leo" Averroes, who is a little over a year old.