How Nur Hazizah learnt that faith need not divide a family

Even before Nur Hazizah Indrasafri began pursuing a degree, her most important lessons had already been learnt at home.

The 24-year-old from Sintok, Kedah, was largely raised by her grandmother, Ng King Fong, after her parents separated.

Her mother’s job often required her to relocate, while her father died last year, leaving her 72-year-old grandmother as the steady presence through much of her childhood.

“She raised me from a young age. Although my mother could not always be with me, my grandmother continued to do her best to support our family, including me and my two younger siblings,” Nur Hazizah told Bernama.

That support carried her through a path she describes as more difficult than that of many of her peers, and eventually to a place in a hospitality management degree programme.

But the relationship with her grandmother has shaped more than her determination to study. Nur Hazizah is Muslim, while Ng is Buddhist – yet the difference in faith has never been treated as a divide within the family.

“I have no problem with my grandmother practising her faith, just as she has no problem when she sees me praying at home,” she said.

Ng is also mindful of her granddaughter’s religious needs, making sure that food in the home is halal.

For Nur Hazizah, growing up in that environment taught her that respect does not require people to believe the same things. What matters is giving one another room to practise those beliefs with care and understanding.

Her grandmother’s sacrifices have also become a source of motivation as she begins the next stage of her education.

Although neither Ng nor Nur Hazizah’s mother was able to accompany her when she recently registered as a new student at Universiti Utara Malaysia, she was not entirely alone. A friend’s family stepped in to be there with her as she began university life.

It was a small gesture, but one that fitted naturally into the kind of support Nur Hazizah has known for years: family, for her, has never been defined only by circumstance or commonality.

Rather, it has been built through care and respect by the people who show up for her.

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.