Cikgu Din's plight answered, gets leave to be with terminally ill wife

The power of social media has come to the rescue of a school teacher in Sarawak, whose pleas for transfer to take care of his terminally ill wife were repeatedly denied by his higher-ups in the Education Ministry.

After his story went viral on X and Facebook, the plight of the teacher, identified as Cikgu Din, finally reached the ears of the ministry's top management and forced the authority into action.

In a statement today, the Education Ministry said it had taken the necessary steps to help Cikgu Din, including giving him an undisclosed amount of leave so he can be with his cancer-stricken wife in Peninsular Malaysia.

"The Education Ministry is concerned about the teacher whose wife has health issues, as what has gone viral on social media.

"Quick action to help the teacher has been taken. The teacher has been given leave so he can be with his wife.

"A meeting will also be set up with the teacher soon to discuss his welfare and other issues that have arisen.

"The Education Ministry prays for his wife's health and will ensure his family's welfare is taken care of," said the statement.

According to a Facebook post by a former teacher Mohd Fadli Salleh, the Sarawak State Education Department has approved a 30-day leave for Cikgu Din since Monday.

Based on screenshots of a conversation between Fadli and the department’s official Facebook account, the authority also expressed its readiness to approve more leave for Cikgu Din from time to time.

However, the account administrator claimed that the viral story did not reflect the real situation, saying that it had been initially suggested that Cikgu Din be transferred to another district close to a hospital so he would not need to move back to Peninsular Malaysia.

"Perhaps, Cikgu Din decided to apply for transfer to Kelantan after discussing it with his wife. However, this department does not have the authority to allow for such transfer as he has yet to serve the minimum 36 months, only the Education Ministry can," it said.

Gaining traction

The plight of Cikgu Din and his wife started gaining traction on social media platforms after the couple’s friend, Harima Abd Rahman, posted their story on her Facebook account yesterday.

According to the friend, Cikgu Din and his wife hailed from Peninsular Malaysia and moved to Sarawak several years ago "during Covid time" after the teacher was transferred to a school in Kanowit.

Not long after they moved to the Borneo state, Cikgu Din's wife fell sick before she was diagnosed with a type of bone cancer.

Harima further shared that the teacher then decided to take his wife and their only child back to her hometown in Kelantan for treatment, and he had since travelled between Sarawak and Kelantan every fortnight.

Cikgu Din had to spend all his annual leaves and had to take unpaid leaves to visit his wife, she added.

"He had applied for transfer so it would be easier for him to be with his wife, but it was not approved.

"He had gone to Putrajaya and even drove to Kuching to see the education director. But still, he received the same answer: he was not allowed to transfer to be with his wife.

"According to the officer in charge of transfers, eGTUKAR (government app for teachers to apply for transfers) is only open to teachers who have served for at least three years," Harima posted.

She also claimed that Cikgu Din received a crude response from a superior when he submitted his letter to appeal for a transfer.

The superior, whose identity was not revealed, allegedly told Cikgu Din: "The sick one is your wife, not you, (so) you can still serve."

After his application and appeals were repeatedly turned down, the teacher continued to travel between Sarawak and Kelantan, taking a toll on his health.

Harima claimed that Cikgu Din was diagnosed with "mental depression disorder", but despite his situation, the teacher still had his transfer application rejected.

To rub salt into his wound, Cikgu Din's wife's health condition deteriorated. Her doctors have decided to stop any active treatment and indicated that she does not have much time left.

The Facebook post was shared over 34,000 times, attracting comments that included a mixture of sympathies towards the couple and condemnation of Education Ministry officials involved in denying Cikgu Din from getting his transfer.

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