‘Good’: 6-year-old’s 1-word response after PM Wong assures her she does not need his permission to remain youngest
When Prime Minister Lawrence Wong replied to six-year-old Sarah Aafiyah Khairul Azhar’s plea not to “be a big sister”, telling her that she “did not need (his) permission to remain the youngest in the family”, she had just one word in response — “Good”.
Her mother, 36-year-old Siti Humairah Suhaimi, had jokingly told her daughter that PM Wong wanted Singaporeans to have more children, inciting a tearful reaction from Sarah, who is the youngest in the family.
This follows the announcement of enhanced measures to support families during the National Day Rally on Aug 23, including the SG Child Support Package, which provides up to $62,000 to every Singapore Citizen child.
According to Berita Harian, Sarah wrote a letter to PM Wong on Aug 26, saying that she did not want to be a big sister and wanted to continue spending time with her parents.
“Even do you want to give us a lot off money — we don’t need more money,” she pleaded in the handwritten letter.
The letter was sent to PM Wong’s office the following day, and the family received a reply less than a week later on Aug 30.
“Please reassure her that she does not need my permission to remain the youngest in the family,” PM Wong wrote in his response.
However, when asked how she felt after receiving the reply, Humairah told Berita Harian that Sarah simply replied: “Good.”
Humairah, who is vice-president of operations at SSA Group, a management training and consulting firm, then asked Sarah to read the email herself. She said everything went smoothly until Sarah reached the sign-off.
When she saw “Warm regards, Lawrence Wong”, Sarah read it as “Warm regrets, Lawrence Wong”, prompting her family to burst out laughing.
Used to being youngest in the family
Sarah had never agreed with the idea of having a younger sibling, Humairah said, being the youngest among her cousins on both sides of the family.
According to Humairah, Sarah was worried that having another sibling would change her routine and reduce the time she usually spends with her parents.
“She’s used to our bedtime routine. She likes us to hug her before she goes to sleep.
“Sometimes, she even sneaks into our room in the middle of the night and sleeps on our bed,” she said.
However, Sarah’s protest was not the reason the family decided not to have any more children.
Humairah and her husband, 41-year-old Khairul Azhar Mondzi, had decided early in their marriage to have only two children, after considering their work commitments as well as the challenges associated with pregnancy and childbirth.
Both Sarah and her older brother, Adam Raees Khairul Azhar, were delivered via emergency caesarean procedures.
Joked about having another child
Humairah said she often joked about the possibility of having another baby because Sarah would become emotional whenever the topic was brought up.
After the National Day Rally on Aug 23, she teased Sarah again by telling her that PM Wong wanted Singaporeans to have more children and that the Government would give families money to do so.
This time, Humairah said, Sarah cried and asked her how to spell “Lawrence”.
Humairah deliberately refused to help Sarah, joking that if PM Wong found out she had helped write the letter, Sarah’s request might not be approved.
Undeterred, Sarah took a sheet of foolscap paper belonging to her older brother and wrote the letter herself, Humairah said.
The following day, they went to Singapore Post outlet to buy a stamp, before Sarah put the letter into a postbox herself.
Humairah later emailed the Prime Minister’s Office to explain the backstory behind her daughter’s letter, but did not expect to receive a reply.
“I really didn’t expect to get a response at all. The fact that he replied, and on a Sunday night too, was amazing,” she said.
Does not plan to write back
Humairah said it was a special experience for her, as it was the first time her daughter had willingly sat down and written something on her own.
Usually, she said, it was difficult to persuade Sarah to do writing exercises.
She added that Sarah also does not plan to write back to PM Wong.
However, she hopes the experience might encourage Sarah to write again about other matters that she feels are important to her.
At home, Humairah said Sarah and her brother know PM Wong as “Singapore’s Big Daddy” because they do not yet fully understand the role of a prime minister.
For instance, after PM Wong advised limiting screen time for children during his National Day Rally speech last year, the couple would tell their children:
No TV because ‘Big Daddy’ says no.
Although she does not plan to have any more children, Humairah said she felt the support measures announced during the National Day Rally would be helpful for families.
“I think these measures are more about supporting families who already want to have more children. The assistance ultimately helps ease some of the financial considerations that come with such a decision.
“Every family still has to make its own decision, assess its resources, circumstances, and capabilities, and make the decision that is most suitable for their family,” she said.
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