Mummy Chia fulfils the good works prepared for her
BEACON STORY
BRINGING FORTH FRUIT IN OLD AGE
Mummy Chia fulfils the good works prepared for her
BY GOH BEE LEE
The group of ladies chatted happily around the table , sewing soft toys . Hovering over them is their mentor , a serene and motherly figure – Mummy Chia .
Mrs Chia – Ng Sze Nai , affectionately known by various names , such as Mummy Chia , Aunty Chia , Godma , Sister Ng or Matron in work places – recently celebrated her 85th . birthday surrounded by all who love her . The robust mother of four and grandma of five has just had an open-heart surgery to repair a poor valve .
I first heard of her in the early 1970s when she was a nursing sister newly transferred to the Batu Pahat district hospital . It was not part of her call of duty but she had volunteered to ride in the ambulance to Muar with a critically ill family friend . Such dedication to her job and going the extra mile is her well-known trait .
More than 20 years later , I had the occasion to see her in action . This time , she was volunteering her nursing services for a cancer patient we were visiting – dressing a horrible wound no one would willingly go near . I have only come to know her well in recent years . This , of course , was to my personal loss , because Mummy Chia is someone you would learn much from .
EARLY DAYS
Mummy Chia came to Malaya as a child from China when her school teacher father brought the family over . Mercifully , the young ‘ gu niang ’ ( girl ) survived the Japanese Occupation .
“ I even went to work , rolling cigars in a factory ,” she remembers . She was also fortunate to receive a few years of belated education in high school . As the responsible eldest sister to eight siblings , she decided against her father ’ s wishes to enroll in a colonial-day nursing course , much frowned upon by traditional parents as a ‘ dirty job ’. So it was that her training and work began in Johor Bahru in the 1950s .
“ I earned 60 dollars . I gave 50 to the family . I could still do a lot of things with the 10 dollars I had !” This was a turbulent time for a young adult , leaving home and studying in a foreign language she found difficult . She had suffered a broken relationship with someone dear to her heart . She sought purpose and direction . Peace eluded her .
PEACE THROUGH A SONG “ One day I was passing a church . I heard people singing a hymn . I stood listening till the end and a strange peace filled my heart ,” shares Mummy Chia . This was the beginning of her search for God . A Christian friend gave her a Bible . She didn ’ t understand much of what she read but somehow , in her heart , she knew that God loved her . It was also the start of a curious relationship she had with the Bible and God .
“ For many years , I did not go to church or want to take the step of baptism . I felt I was not good enough to make the commitment .” She wanted to marry a Christian husband and she did a few years later .
MARRIAGE However , married life was no walk in the park as she struggled to reconcile her strict upbringing in a traditional Teochew family – where love , respect and filial piety were emphasized – with her new family-in-law who , unlike what she had expected , were only nominally Christians .
“ I did my very best to be a good daughter-in-law , but mostly went unappreciated . Finally , when my motherin-law was at the end of her days , she told people I was her most obedient and submissive daughter-in-law !”
After three children and a marriage that did not offer much for her self-esteem and emotional security , she was ready to
14 ASIAN BEACON 48 # 1 December 2016 - January 2017