This heartwarming story is about a Malaysian woman who reunited with her long-lost Indonesian helper after losing touch with her for over 10 years.
When Angeline was 3 years old, Siti left behind her life in Indonesia and joined a Chinese family in Malaysia.
“She was like an older sister to me,” shared Angeline. “Whenever I got into trouble with my parents, she’d cry and beg my parents not to punish me.”
As a nanny who took care of Angeline since she was a toddler, Siti became a significant part of her young charge’s childhood until she reached the age of 12.
The Nanny Who Became Family
The photo which Angeline used to identify Siti in her post to search for her childhood nanny. Image via Angeline Low/FB
Foreign maids, or ‘kakak’ as they are known in Malaysia, are a familiar sight in some Malaysian families. Hailing mostly from Indonesia and Philippines, these migrant workers help in various ways – from caring for the elderly to raising young kids – and leave when their services are no longer required.
The relationship between a maid and her employer is often considered a temporary arrangement. Once the family has no further need for their services, they go back to their home country.
But in the case of Siti Halimah, an Indonesian, and Angeline, a Malaysian Chinese, it was much more than just a transactional relationship.
Angeline recalls with fondness how Siti would always ask her if she had enough pocket money for her school lunch, and would even give her extra allowance to make sure she had enough to eat.
“When I think back, this was such a crazy thing to do, considering she comes from so little and doesn’t have much at all,” added Angeline.
For context, the average salary of an Indonesian helper in Malaysia is RM1500 a month.
In 2012, after Siti’s contract ended with her employers, she returned to her home in Pekalongan, Central Java. Angeline’s family unfortunately lost touch with her after a couple of years.
“For a long time, Siti’s presence was something I had taken for granted,” Angeline admitted. She shared that it seemed ridiculous that someone who was such a huge part of her life as a child would simply disappear without a trace.
Reunited with the power of the internet
Almost a decade later, in January 2021, Angeline was about to get married, and top of her mind when it came to the guestlist was her beloved nanny. But without a way of contacting Siti, Angeline was at a loss.
That’s when she decided to make a Facebook post asking the internet to work its magic:
“Help me find this woman. Her name is Siti Halimah, and she lived/lives in Pekalongan, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia. I am trying to reconnect with her after all these years with little information to go by.I’m hoping that the internet can do its magic and help us reconnect. Please share this especially if you have any Indonesian connections ” the post read.
Angeline herself felt it was a long shot, but incredibly, after only 2 days of the post going live, she made contact with Siti through a friend’s phone.
“When we had a video call for the first time, she bawled her eyes out,” recalled Angeline, who also ended up crying during the reunion.
Angeline found out that Siti had been working in a local market as a cashier cum salesperson in Pekalongan.
Since Siti didn’t own a phone, she had to borrow a friend’s phone just to keep in contact with Angeline. In order not to lose her again, Angeline bought her a smartphone.
The reunion became the talk of the town in Siti’s kampung, and Siti became well known for being the only nanny whose child she looked after in Malaysia loved her to come looking for her.
Getting Siti to the Wedding Wasn’t Easy
Image via Angeline Low/FB
In February 2023, Angeline invited Siti to attend her wedding reception in Malaysia, but the reunion hit a snag when it was revealed that Siti didn’t have a passport, and didn’t know how to apply for one.
“She didn’t have a passport at this stage and being uneducated, she did not know how to apply for one herself,” Angeline shared, adding that the Indonesian immigration department also gave her a lot of trouble.
It was only when Angeline’s mother paid a visit to the Indonesian immigration embassy in Kuala Lumpur to intercede on Siti’s behalf when the authorities finally relented and issued Siti a new passport and a 1-month tourist visa to Siti.
And even after that, Siti’s journey was fraught with harsh scrutiny and disbelief by both Indonesian and Malaysian immigration authorities, as reported by Malaysian social news website Says.
“During her flight to Malaysia, she was brought aside to be questioned at both the airports,” Angeline said.
Immigration officers were skeptical of Siti’s reasons for coming to Malaysia, thinking that it might have been an excuse for Siti to come back to Malaysia to continue working illegally.
After all, it is almost unheard of for an employer to pay flight tickets and visa fees just to invite a helper from 10 years ago to attend their former employer’s wedding.
It was only when Siti showed them the WhatsApp text exchanges between her and Angeline that she was finally allowed to pass through the airport.
Despite scrutiny at every step, Siti finally arrived to celebrate the wedding.
Siti Halimah and Angeline at her wedding in Malaysia in February 2023. Image via Angeline Low/FB
Siti was finally able to witness Angeline’s big day in February 2023 at a Peranakan restaurant called Little Heritage House, in Petaling Jaya.
After the wedding, Siti stayed for a month in Malaysia and flew back to her hometown, with Angeline sharing that she would visit her in the coming few years.
“It is shocking how much lack of empathy we have for our own helpers,” shared Angeline. “They leave behind their very own loved ones and travel to a foreign land to care for someone else’s dependents for very little remuneration.”
Angeline and Siti’s reunion story is a powerful reminder that love and kindness transcend roles, time, and borders. Their enduring connection shows the importance of valuing those who nurture and care for us—and proves that some bonds can never truly be broken.
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Also read: My Filipino Kaka Raised me Instead of My Own Mother
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