Unexpected bundle of joy for 80-year-old

Compiled by SIM LEOI LEOI, C. ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHAN

YOB Ahmad is the toast of his village in Kepala Batas, Penang, after he fathered a baby girl at the age of 80, reported Harian Metro.

Baby Nur was delivered safely by his 42-year-old wife Zaleha Zainul Abidin on May 31.

Yob, who has four children from previous marriages, said he did not want to think about having a child despite having been married to Zaleha for 10 years.

“I didn’t expect a child at this age. God is powerful. My daughter’s birth is according to His wish and will,” said the former Felda settler.

Asked about his secret to good health, the octogenarian said he rarely exercised but adopted a diet rich of herbs.

Zaleha revealed she had a miscarriage five years ago.

“I was really shocked to learn that I was three months pregnant because I thought I was already in menopause,” said Zaleha, who also has three children from previous marriages.

> The daily also quoted actress and host Che Puan Sarimah Ibrahim (pic) as saying that being married to royalty is not a “ticket” to stop working.

The 46-year-old said as the eldest of four siblings, she is used to working and being independent financially because she did not want to depend on her parents.

“Although I am the only girl in the family, with three younger brothers, I have to show a good example, especially on the need to be independent.

“After I met and married my husband, nothing has changed for me because I love to work, and I can’t just sit still even though he can support me,” said Sarimah, who recently starred in the popular Malay drama Lelaki Itu.

She also said that whatever earnings she made were reinvested, such as buying her own home and enrolling for acting classes.

Sarimah and her husband, Tunku Nadzimuddin Tunku Mudzaffar, have a four-year-old daughter.

The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a, it denotes a separate news item.