Letter from a parent

My Dear Angles,

This is the first letter I have written to you since you left home to begin the new period of your life at school, and I think that perhaps it will serve to impress upon you still more distinctly the importance of much that I have said to you of late. I know that intentionally you will cause us no disappointment with regard to your conduct or your studies, but you are still very young, and know nothing of the temptations with which youth is best, nor of th evils which arise in after life from habits contracted at school under the influence of unprincipled associates.

It is my earnest hope that you may choose for your own friends clever and industrious girls, from whom you may learn how to combine accuracy and expedition in your work with proficiency in all manly sports and games. But I would rather that your friends were not brilliant and unable to be of worldly service to you than that they were clever and unprincipled.

Education is a most important thing, but its object is the formation of character rather than the acquisition of learning, and morals far outweigh Latin and Greek. I shall be proud if you could become a fine scholar, but heart broken if you are not a good individual.

So, my dear angle, I beg you to avoid everything that our Alquran and your conscience warn you is not right. You will find there all that you need to enable you to decide if you are compelled to make a choice between two lines of conduct; if, while you are still little, you find yourself uncertain after prayer, then write to me and you shall have the best advice that a very loving mother can give you.

Whatever you are doing, whether it is work or play, put your whole heart into it and do your best, according to the rules. You may not always be successful, but you can always be faithful, and while the world crowns "success," it is Allah who crowns "faithfulness." Do your duty to Him and aim at becoming a good Muslim, and all will be well.

Never waste your time. Make a point finding something to do, and do it hard. Indolence is about the worst habit a man can form, and remember, too, that doing nothing is not the only way of wasting time. It may do you even more harm, for instance, to read pernicious literature. You will doubtless find plenty of books in the school library. Read history and biography, both for instruction and amusement, and if you feel inclined for something lighter, read healthy stories of adventure or tales founded on fact.Whatever it is, so that it is good, read it attentively and methodically, and you will be surprised some day to find how useful a store of general information you have acquired.

There is much that I should like to say, but something of what I omit your good sense will supply. Write to us often and unreservedly. Always look upon us as your best friends, and hide nothing, not even your faults; I have been young, and can make allowances for what youth does, provided it is neither mean nor vicious.
Remember the magic word : "Usaha*Doa*Tawakkal". Until my next letter, take good care dear...

p/s: Your father send his fondest love

Always your affectionate mother,~Etamy~

To Kakak Moon, Kakak Shua, Lala and Iyam, many of the above are excerpts from your Late Tok Wan's letter. ( during mama's school day)..Mama still keep Tok Wan's letter and would love to share all his advices with you all.. You might not be able to have his presence but I can assure you that his many letters and words of wisdom have made mama what I am today..