MECCA: When Ong Kim Koi was young, she used to listen to the school ustaz (religious teacher) teaching her Muslim friends.
She became attracted to the religion when she was 15, and at 19, decided to convert to Islam and assumed the name Mazni Abdullah.
Her leap of faith did not go down well with her family.
But her father did tell her this: “If you embrace Islam, embrace it well. If you pray, do it properly.”
The soft-spoken 63-year-old Kelantanese has come a long way.
She is in Mecca to complete one of the pillars of Islam by performing the haj.
“I am very happy. I had wanted to perform the haj for so long,” said Mazni, who was accompanied by her daughter, Siti Noorshihatun Pinnain Jusoh and son-in-law, Mohd Haffiy Ridha Dania, both 31.
It almost did not happen.
When Haffiy and Siti were informed by Tabung Haji that they were going for their haj, Mazni was not selected.
Knowing how much his mother-in-law yearned to go, Haffiy told a disheartened Mazni to appeal.
And the rest is history.
Mazni’s journey to Mecca had not been easy.
She had saved up by running a sundry shop in Kota Baru.
And she had been tested many times throughout her life.
Mazni’s first two husbands had died.
She is now married to lorry driver, Ismail Jusoh, 73.
Ismail was not here with Mazni as he had performed the haj earlier.
A teary Mazni thanked Ismail for allowing her to perform the haj.
“Thank you, Abang (her husband) for allowing me to come here.
“I couldn’t come here before because he was sick. I am thankful for this chance.”
Asked if she had a doa, Mazni, who has four children, said she wished that her relationship with her estranged family would improve.
She longed to freely visit her 98-year-old father, who had suffered a stroke. So far, she had only paid him a few short visits.