SEGAMAT: A 77-year-old Al-Quran teacher, Rokiah Said gained instant fame as people begin to associate her with “Makcik Kiah”, who has been trending on social media.
In presenting the Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package yesterday, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had used an analogy of Makcik Kiah, a pisang goreng (banana fritters) seller and her family to demonstrate how an average B40 family could benefit from the initiatives.
Rokiah said her cellphone was abuzz with WhatApp messages merely minutes after the announcement was made, with friends and family teasing and congratulating her.
“I have always been known as Makcik Kiah among the villagers here as I have been teaching children Al-Quran.
“My contacts have been sending me various images and jokes related to Makcik Kiah. Among the images sent showed Makcik Kiah advising people to stay home (and adhere to the Movement Control Order),” she said when met at her house in Jementah, here.
Rokiah said she was not offended by the attention received, but felt proud.
She said her husband, a retired armed forces personnel, Mohamed Yap, 94, has been playfully teasing her by calling her Makcik Kiah since yesterday.
“This incident has not only made me more glamourous, but grocery store owners have teased me saying I have obtained many benefits from the package announced.”
She said that her mother, Sitam Yassin, who died in 2010, had named her Rokiah.
“The old Malay generation in the 1960s used to call only part of someone's name. For example, Maimunah becomes ‘Munah’, while a person named Ahmad will simply be called ‘Mat’.
“The names are also easy to remember and pronounce, especially during the Emergency in the past as evident in the many films of Tan Sri P.Ramlee,” she added.