A big heart

I've a younger brother who had an inferiority complex problem.


You see, my brother here didn't do very well in his UPSR. The least everyone else in the family got was 4A's but he only managed 2. He pulled out of his PMR with 5A's only but was still able to land himself in a MJSC. I don't really care because he's still my brother.

You see, I wasn't always aware that my little brother here was finding it hard to ace exams. It was constantly at the back of my mind that he wasn't trying hard enough. I thought this kid was playing the fool for too long. Up till his PMR, he still only managed 5A's when he should've done that way back for his UPSR. There was once when he was in Form 3, he gave a speech. This brother of mine told his whole school, the whole audience how much he'd like to ace his PMR. Because he said everyone in the family looked down on him. He felt that everyone in our family thought he was the black sheep, that he didn't live up to expectations. That's how big a heart this brother of mine has.

On a spectrum of yes and no, i'd be honest enough to say yes Munir, you have let me down. I expected great things from you. I always looked up to ayah and how much i wanted to surpass him. I know that you always looked up to me, always admiring my medals, looking at and carressing my football boots in awe, creating your own dobi number (a number each individual student of MCKK is allocated to be written on their clothes as ID for the laundry company to identify: mine was A55) that you scribbled on all of your clothes with a permanent black marker only to make mama smile. I always thought you'd be able to breeze through exams like I was once abled to. But then again, everyone is his/her own case.

I noticed from when you were young, how easily you followed. people used to pin it on you whenever things went wrong and being you, you just took the blame. I remembered how i thought you were the 'pak turut' type, 'lurus bendul' and many more attributes that somehow made you look like a pushover. I guess that was the cue for me to recognise how special you are compared to the others in our family.

Now your 17, you've developed a much more independent identity. You're a whole person yourself, you stand up for what you believe in and for that I am proud of you. You've won just as many medals as I did, being an ace in football, you can play from striker down to goalie. You're an unbelievable natural. I've never played with or against you because I thought you were too young to play with me. But when Am came down to Jitra, i remembered us playing together; me, u, am, ijal, chot i think. cant really remember, but that was when i finally acknowledged that you had grown up. it was after that then only i started taking you to football matches at stadium alor setar. It was only then you became a real brother to me.

Now that all that limelight and fame for sports has died out, i can only wish you the best for your upcoming SPM, starting this 18th dec. I want you to know whatever your results turn out to be, no matter where you land yourself in uni, whatever you become in the future, i will always be pround of you. You are a person pure at heart, you have no malice in you, you have no envy, thats what makes you special. There are uncountable smart and clever people out there with mountains of credentials, but not many can match your purity. I wish you the best my little brother. Whatever you do, make us proud for we will always be proud of you. May my prayers be with you. Ameen.


p/s: I cried reading this. Mukhlis, my younger brother, wrote it, dedicated to our little brother, Munir... I'd like to share this with all of you...to show how much we love each other regardless.