Adib's last birthday gifts become cherished memories

For Ruslinan Abd. Razak, the memory of her son Muhammad Adib Hazim Halim is kept alive through the birthday gifts he gave her just two days before he tragically died in a road accident a year ago.

Muhammad Adib, the sixth of seven siblings and a student at Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI), presented his mother with a book titled "Our Mother Needs You," a bouquet of flowers, and cash. These gifts, received on June 7th of last year, are now cherished mementos of a life cut short.

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Happy birthday, Ummi. Please read the book I gave you. That's what Arwah said when he gave me the gift on June 7 last year.

Ruslinan, 56, shared that the book, which Adib bought himself, and the handmade flower bouquet represent his final creative efforts for her. She keeps these items carefully preserved, though she admits she struggles to read the book he insisted she open, finding the words too emotionally difficult to bear.

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This gift is too precious for me. The book was bought by Arwah himself, and the flower bouquet was his last handicraft for me.

"Happy birthday, Ummi. Please read the book I gave you. That's what Arwah said when he gave me the gift on June 7 last year," Ruslinan recalled. She described Adib as a creative individual who diligently worked on the flower arrangement and assembled RM100 from RM5 and RM10 notes using his own savings.

This year's birthday celebration was profoundly different without Muhammad Adib's presence, even with all his siblings gathered. A year after the tragedy, Ruslinan's grief remains palpable, and her only solace is visiting his grave. The accident, which occurred on Kilometer 53 of the Jeli-Gerik East-West Highway in Perak, claimed the lives of 15 UPSI students.

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Even now, my heart cannot bear the longing for Arwah, and I can only visit his grave.