SULJIRINA Lucas believes that God will not give you more than you can handle. She has been carrying this belief since she was little.
Born in Marudi in 1984, she is the eldest of six children in her family.
Now, you may think that being the eldest is nothing but in reality, it’s more than that. As the eldest, it is not always a bed of roses as it usually comes with heavy responsibilities, be it meeting expectations, being the successful one, continuing the family’s legacy and so on.
Moreover, the responsibility thrown at them could be very overwhelming if one comes from an unfortunate family.
Nevertheless, being thrown into such a situation does not mean it’s the end of the world.
This is the life story of 39-year-old Suljirina, who has gone through so much to make ends meet for her family and to be where she is today.
How It Started
Born of an immigrant father and ‘orang kampung’ mother, she started working when she was 14 years old to help out her family.
“I did not have the luxury like other teenagers my age at the time.
“My mother was a full-time housewife with no education background while my father did not have the certified qualifications to have a permanent job.”
She related that in early 1992, her father decided that the whole family should move from the kampung to the city (Miri).
“I was in Primary 2 when my father decided that we should move because he said there was no way for us to grow or learn if we stayed in the kampung.
“Even though moving was a hard decision for him, he felt that it was for the best.”
Since she was a child, her father had been doing manual labour that paid daily wages.
“With the measly income, he could barely support the family.
“Working those kind of jobs, the income was inconsistent. When it rains, as a construction worker, my father could not work.
“Moreover, 30 years ago, there were hardly any opportunities.”
She said the wages that her father received were only enough to put food on the table and at times, the money was not enough.
“That is why, on some days, my mother would go find edible vegetables near the river to feed us. That was how we lived.
“At that time, we lived in a construction lodge in Pujut because my father worked there.
“To cut transportation cost, I was enrolled in SRK Pujut Corner. I walked to school daily from Primary 2 to Form 2.”
Hardest Point in Life
Suljirina recalled that the hardest point in her life was when she was 15 years old onward.
“When I was in Form 3, my school (SMK Baru) was quite far from my home. To get there, I had to use a public bus.
“At that time, it costs me RM1 per trip. So going to school and back home would require me to pay RM2 a day, which at that time was quite a sum of money.
“Due to the financial constraint, I could only go to school three to four times per week. For the remaining days, it was just impossible for me to afford to pay for transport.
“Of course on days that I go to school, I never had food to eat in school. As long as I had money to pay for the bus, nothing else mattered.”
Her constant absence from school had greatly affected her studies.
“I am not a bright student. Because of my family background, I do not have similar opportunities like others, like going for tuition.
“My parents could not assist me in my studies so my results all depended on myself. I studied hard.
“Even though my results throughout the years were not that good, I never failed any of my subjects and that alone gave me hope. However, for some of my teachers, they saw no hope in me.”
According to her, a few of her teachers would utter ‘Apa rancangan awak lepas tok? kawen jak lah’ (so what is your next plan? Just get married) after seeing her attendance record and examination results.
“I felt so ashamed and I thought to myself, how heartless it was for my teachers to utter those words without asking the reasons why I didn’t go to school.
“But when I told them about my situation and that I did not have money to go to school, they would reply ‘sik patut you pergi sekolah baju ber-iron tapi duit sikda’ (It is absurd that you can go to school with properly ironed uniform but don’t have any money).
“To be honest, I truly do not understand the link between unwrinkled clothes and having money to go to school. For me, you do not have to buy expensive things to be neat or look good. It is a matter of taking care of yourself.”
As a young girl, she admitted that the words hurt her deeply.
“Despite my situation, I did not want to blame others for my weaknesses, not even my parents. It is about me and if I couldn’t score well in my examinations, it is my fault, not others.
“Therefore, with the comments thrown at me by my teachers, I told myself, ‘It’s okay, this won’t stop me from giving my best’. Of course, there is no magic in anything that we do but I was determined to prove to them that I can do it.”
As the eldest, Suljirina always wanted to be a good example to her siblings and help her family however she could.
During the school holidays, she would work part-time at supermarkets, restaurants and fun fairs.
“When I was in Form 2, I started to work part-time. I had many young siblings at the time so we do not have much money. With me working, at least I could help my father financially while also renewing my bus card for me to go to school and chip in to pay my school fees.”
After receiving her Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) results, she proceeded to continue her studies in Form 6.
“My results were not that good and none of my applications went through.
“So I sought God on what I should do next because I know that with my education level at the time, there was nothing much I could do to help my family.”
The Turning Point
Despite everything that she went through, her faith in God never wavered as she persevered through it all.
She shared that through the grace of God, one day, her friend Joseph Lawrence gave her a call.
“He told me that he was offered a Bachelor of Town and Regional Planning at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM). With the lack of students applying for the course, he told me that the lecturer is looking for more students who are interested.
“With that, I was accepted as a student at UiTM.”
As her process of getting the offer was going smoothly, at that time, due to it being a last-minute offer for the second intake, she said that the flight tickets to Kuala Lumpur were extremely high.
“When I told my father about the offer, he expressed his concern about who will pay for my flight and fees. He told me that if I were to go, he could not afford the expenses as my siblings were still young.
“Nevertheless, I was determined to go because if I were to pass up on the offer, there is no other way that I can help him and my family. I know I had to go no matter what.”
Her father went to meet her grandmother’s (late) brother to borrow some money.
“And that was the first time I was away from my family. It was indeed a struggle but I knew that it had to be this way.
“God has provided for me. So the rest is my effort to be willing to take the next step.”
She said throughout her studies, she survived as a student with National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) money.
“I only spend less than RM50 per week and properly budget my money throughout the years.
“As for the rest of my money, I would send it to my parents. I was alone here so I could handle myself but back home, I had many siblings. So I shared the portion of my money and I managed to survive until I graduated.”
She said her results had always been 3-pointers and above. Although everything was looking up, she was hit with a huge setback during the final year.
“During my final year, I rented a house outside my campus. With all the money I had saved, that semester was the time when I could finally afford a laptop.
“However, one day, my house was broken into and my laptop was stolen. All my thesis and hard work were in the laptop.
“I did not have any extra copies or updated drafts for my thesis. On top of that, that semester, I was also hospitalised for almost one week for dengue.”
Suljirina said that with all the things happening in her final semester, she turned to God and prayed for strength to make it.
“And I thank God, always thank God that no matter how hard my life was, He was always there for me.
“Soon after, my lecturer found out about my situation and let me use his old laptop for me to finish my thesis. I managed to complete it and graduated on time.”
After graduating, and while waiting for a permanent post in her field, she worked as a temporary teacher back in Miri.
“After a week of being a teacher, I was called for an interview in Sibu. So, my father drove me along with my siblings to Sibu.
“Along the way, our car broke down and we were stuck in Selangau around 6pm and there was nobody around to help.
“So we had to call my (late) uncle in Miri to help us out. I remember it was 2am at the time, and my uncle arrived to send me to Sibu as my interview was at 8am.
“After two months of waiting, I was offered the job and here I am, in the government service for the 15th year.”
Life Lessons
With all the hardships thrown at her, Suljirina realised that God will always give us a challenge before we reach the peak of our life.
“In life, it is not all about money. One must have faith to get through the challenges. Looking back, I believe that whatever happened in the past will not determine your future if you work hard.
“I have always striven to improve myself. I come from a poor family. I have nothing that I can be proud of but I am proud of myself because God is always with me.”
Apart from that, she said that she joined two beauty pageants in 2011 – Miss World Harvest Festival and Miss Baram Regatta – to be a better version of herself.
“These two platforms have given me the confidence that I needed. And for that year, I was crowned as the winner in both.
“I am grateful for every stage of my life until today. Being here does not stop me from helping my parents and sharing what I have with my siblings. They are my priorities.
“I would like to remind everyone that in whatever you do, never give up. With the perseverance that you have, you will get through everything that stands in your way,” Suljirina advised.
