KOTA KINABALU: A mother was moved to tears when the name of her late daughter Ng Yi Ming, who died of a heart disease last year, was called to posthumously receive her doctorate at the 23rd Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) convocation ceremony.
Cheng Lak Mooi, 65, went up to the stage to receive the scroll from the Sabah Yang di-Pertua Negeri during the ceremony on Sunday (June 26).
“I am very happy to be able to fulfil the wishes of my late daughter to attend and receive the scroll on her behalf, '' Cheng said.
Ng, 35, was awarded the PhD in Psychology from UMS.
She had previously obtained a Bachelor of Industrial and Organisational Psychology from UMS and a Master of Science in Child Developmental Psychology from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).
"She was a very diligent and very tenacious person. We are very proud of her as she managed to do well academically despite suffering from a heart condition," Cheng said.
Cheng said that her daughter had made a presentation for the PhD on Jan 21, 2021 and was given three months to correct the thesis. But she passed away on Feb 21, 2021 after battling her heart condition for more than 20 years.
She said to treat Ng's heart condition, she had to undergo a valve replacement surgery in September 2014.
"After undergoing a major high-risk surgery, she often suffered from heart palpitations," the mother said.
Ng was among 77 recipients of the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees at the convocation ceremony over the weekend.
There were a total of 4,319 graduates completing their various degrees with 3,664 receiving Bachelor's degrees, Master's degrees (35) and 87 postgraduate diplomas.
The three-day convocation began on Saturday (June 25).
