KUANTAN: Ab Razak Ahmad fought back tears as he walked onto the stage during Universiti Malaysia Pahang's (UMP) 17th convocation at the Gambang campus here.
It was at once a proud moment and one filled with sadness as it was not his degree he was accepting.
The scroll was that os his 22-year-old son, who died in a road crash last year.
When his son Muhammad Raafi's name was called, the 67-year-old climbed up the stairs to the stage and received the scroll from UMP vice-chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Yuserrie Zainuddin.
Raafi graduated with a Bachelor's in Engineering Technology (Energy and Environment) from the Faculty of Civil Engineering Technology.
Razak, who was accompanied by his wife Norhana Hanim Abdullah, 65, said although he could not see his youngest son graduate, the family was extremely proud of Raafi's achievement.
"My son is no longer with us, but I am here today to appreciate his struggle and hard work in earning the degree.
"Raafi was close to me. Since young, he had always wanted to follow in his siblings' footsteps to study in university.
"Raafi had never lived far from the family, so he studied at UMP as the campus is quite near our home in Pekan.
"He was an active student and took part in co-curricular activities in university."
Meanwhile, octogenarian Dr Jahid Sidek said he was thrilled to get his second doctorate.
The 83-year-old said he chose to study Islamic spiritual reflexology, an Islamic treatment method, to help accelerate the development of Islamic medicine in Malaysia.
"It was challenging at the beginning, especially gathering data, but I remained determined to provide syariah-compliant Islamic treatment for the community."
Jahid, who retired in 1995 after serving at Universiti Malaya, received his doctorate from UMP pro-chancellor Tan Sri Abi Musa Asa'ari Mohamed Nor.
