A Malaysian woman has been reunited with the last bank note given to her by her late father almost four years ago, thanks to the generosity of a stranger and a national social media campaign.
Nur Hidayah Mohamad, a 25-year-old cashier, was handed a 50 ringgit ($16) note in May 2020 by her father who was close to death due to kidney disease.
On it, she wrote, "Duit last ayah bagi" which translates to "last money from Dad".
Next to the date, she added "al-Fatihah", which is a chapter from the Koran often recited for the dead. Soon after, her father died.
Ms Hidayah had intended to keep the bank note as a cherished reminder of her father. But a few months later, the bank note was the only money left in her purse and she reluctantly had to spend it.
"I had no choice but to use that money and in that moment I prayed that I could get it back after," she told Malay-language newspaper Sinar Harian.
Her wish came true when a complete stranger found the bank note after it came out of an ATM machine on February 20 in the state of Kuantan.
Azfarul Zainol, 35, saw the writing on the 50 ringgit bill and kept in his wallet because he thought it might have sentimental value for someone.
He posted a photo of the bank note on his personal Facebook account, hoping to find the recipient from four years earlier.
"Maybe there's an original owner who wants … this money … from the ATM machine," he wrote.
After his post was shared more than 12,000 times and received more than 9,000 likes, four people contacted him, claiming ownership of the 50 ringgit bill.
But it was only when Ms Hidayah reached out to him that he felt that her claims were genuine. Just to make sure, he checked out the story of her father's battle with kidney disease on social media.
They met up over the weekend and he handed the note back to its grateful owner.
"I never expected to find the note after four years," Ms Hidayah said.
"I will take care of it as best as I can from now on because it is the last spending money given [to me] by my late father and [it] holds a lot of memories for me."
Mr Azfarul's post on Facebook triggered comments from friends and members of the public who admitted they also kept the last money given to them by late parents as precious mementos.
He said he was grateful for making someone else's day, even if he might be 50 ringgit poorer.
"Thankfully, the search has ended and we've found the owner," he said.
By ABC/wires
Original article link: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-26/good-samaritan-ends-four-year-search-for-dying-fathers-gift/103511746
Stay tuned for the latest news on our radio stations
