KUBANG PASU: A TikTok video of an eight-year-old girl confiding in her mother that she cannot bear to see her disabled younger brother suffer as she loves him very much has gone viral.
In the video, the young girl also expressed how she wished to relieve him of the pain and suffering.
"Let me be the one who is sick, not him," said Chenta Nur Sumayyah Mohamad Jefri, 8, to her mother Nurul Ain Jawahir Md Isa.
Chenta's touching words came about as her younger brother, Muhammad Aqil Sudais, 4, suffers from Synder-Robinson syndrome, a condition that is characterised by intellectual disability, muscle and bone abnormalities and other problems in development.
Aqil has had the condition since he was six months old.
In the video, Chenta could be seen crying after returning from school as some of her schoolmates had bullied and mocked her about Aqil.
Her mother, Nurul Ain, 30, from Kampung Pida 8, Ayer Hitam here said the young girl gets upset when anyone speaks ill of her brother.
"When she returned home from school the other day, Chenta was sobbing as she related how some children at school had mocked her because Aqil is disabled.
"I was sad and disappointed about what she told me, but I responded by asking her to ignore such behaviour and advised her to be patient although she was very disturbed, so much so she did not want to go to school.
"I did not want such a scenario to fester and continue to trouble her, so I went to the school and met with her teacher. Alhamdulillah, it has been sorted out and Chenta is much better now," Nurul Ain told Harian Metro.
According to her, Chenta is very close to Aqil.
"When she is not in school, she is with Aqil almost 24 hours. This is how much she adores and loves her little brother, who sometimes has epileptic fits and suffers from kidney problem and other complications.
"She sees how Aqil suffers and this has somewhat traumatised her, as she fears she will lose him."
The mother said Chenta even helps her care for Aqil, such as making his milk when the former is occupied or tired.
"She makes me very proud as she even keeps her pocket money aside for Aqil. She worries that I may not have enough money to buy him milk."
On the viral video, Nurul Ain said her niece, Anis Yusrina Shahira Yusof, had uploaded the original video clip on TikTok.
"I never expected the video clip to go viral, but I hope it will show just how important such sibling love is, especially when it involves one who is disabled."
However, there were some netizens who criticised her, saying she was seeking publicity, which Nurul Ain said was never her intention.
"But there are also those who came forward and made contributions for Aqil's benefit.
"Thank you very much to all who have shown us love and given us encouragement," she added.
