KOTA KINABALU: A father from Papar got a pleasant surprise with the arrival of his fifth child on New Year.
Andrew Juanis, 35, said during the antenatal checks he was told that the child was a boy.
However his wife and he were happy that the child was a baby girl. She was born at 5am at Likas Women and Children's hospital here.
"The baby was supposed to be our Christmas gift as the due date was Dec 25.
"But there was a delay and my wife had to undergo a Caeserian section as the doctor indicated there was minor problem with the baby's heart," he said, adding the baby was well now and the mother was resting in the ward.
He was among 10 couples met during the mock handing out of Amanah Dana Anak Malaysia 2050 (ADAM50) at the hospital here.
ADAM50 is a one-off unit trust incentive worth RM200 announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak during the tabling of budget 2018, to be given to babies born between Jan 1, 2018, and Dec 31, 2022.
When parents open investment accounts with Permodalan Nasional Berhad, either Amanah Saham Bumiputera or Amanah Saham 1 Malaysia, the unit trust will be automatically credited to their account.
Andrew said ADAM50 was another surprise as he was not aware of the initiative which takes effect today.
"It is a good initiative by the government to encourage parents to save for their children.
"For my previous children, it took us few years before we got savings accounts for them," said the businessman who sells lime.
First-time parents Ahmad Aizuddin, 27, and his wife Dayang Norhafizahtuk Azeerah Awang Harun, 22, also thanked the government for the RM200 unit trust gift.
"We did have a plan to save RM50 monthly in a savings account for our baby girl.
"With the introduction of this unit trust, which provides better investment returns, we will continue with Amanah Saham Bumiputera," said Ahmad.
Present at the ceremony was hospital director Dr Tan Bee Hwai.