Shutting them up

One word. Overjoyed. Overjoyed to see my brother received countless of offers to pursue his tertiary education. Adam had to go down a different path in his academic world. Unlike me, I was given the luxury and bless by Allah to do well in my studies. But Adam is different. He has difficulty in studying. However, Adam is special. He is blessed with multiple talents in sports.

In this country that prioritize academic achievement, the future looks bleak for Adam. Albeit, he never gives up. I remembered years ago, when Adam got his UPSR result. He cried. He asked what is wrong with him. He asked why cant he be like me, but we convinced him that Allah has better plans for him. And indeed it was true.

Walaupun result UPSR Adam tak elok, dia berjaya masuk Penang Free; sekolah yang semua ahli keluarga lelaki aku attend. Kalau ikut result dia tak layak masuk, tapi disebabkan Penang Free ada sign memorandum pembangunan sukan dengan Persatuan Kriket Melayu Malaysia, Adam was offered a place. My mother is a teacher dekat Penang Free. Sometimes my mom got hurt when she listened to some cikgu2 menggelabah yang buat PFS-hanya-untuk-budak-pandai-anak-hang-pandaikah punya remark. Ada jugak yang pandai2 kata Adam got through because guna kabel (masa tu bapak aku Pegawai Pendidikan Daerah). Macam-macam.

These beladi comments shattered Adam's motivation. But we family stood together. Sikit-sikit, Adam prove to them that PFS needs him more than he needs PFS. Dia harumkan nama sekolah. Dia menang tournament tu, dia menang tournament ni. Often, his team makes the news in the newspaper. He played for the state, and even for the country. Heck he was the first malay to be appointed as the Penang captain. And he delivers well. Under his leadership Penang won the MSSM tournament for the first time in their history. He was also the skipper for the country. Little by little people stopped questioning.

But still, Adam was worried. Playing crickets has taken its toll on him. It requires him to travel a lot, domestically and internationally. Therefore he had to miss class and studies. Some people, instead of being supportive try to break my mom by saying that sports is not going to get Adam anywhere. Mak mana yang tak tersinggung bila orang kata kat anak dia, but she's tougher than ever. We kept our faith, and support him all the way. Alhamdulillah, Adam did well in his SPM.

Apart from receiving tons of offers, Kriket Melayu also offered him a scholarship to study in UKM. The best thing is, he can pick any course he wants offered there. And yes, a degree course. Tak payah go through matrik, stpm or diploma.

Sounds too good to be true, isn't it? The whole family is happy for him. Adam had successfully silent his critics. He proves them wrong. He shut them up. We showed that by having faith and belief, we can achieve anything we want. Adam, I am so proud of you. You always tell me how much you envied me, but in truth it's the other way around. I have a great deal of envy and respect in you too. But you have to remember, this is just the beginning. Lots of things coming your way, so work hard okay? I cant talk to you verbally because you know...kita laki. Susah kita nak cakap bab-bab macam ni face to face. Tak macho aahh. Hehe. Have a great journey ahead and choose the offers wisely.

ok cun.