EX-STUDENTS CONFIDENT 'CIKGU JOOHARI' WILL GIVE HIS BEST TO SUNGAI BAKAP CONSTITUENTS

By Lucia Terey Anak John

NIBONG TEBAL, June 24 (Bernama) -- There is truth to the proverb that a great person can produce many good works, but a great teacher can singlehandedly produce thousands of great students.

Perhaps this describes the character and personality of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate for the Sungai Bakap state by-election, Dr Joohari Ariffin, shared by his former student at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama (SMKA) Nibong Tebal (now known as SMKA Sheikh Abdullah Fahim).

bootstrap slideshow

Recalling memories of being Joohari's student in Form 2 at the national religious school in 1997, Nor Asyikin Abdullah, 41, remembers vividly Cikgu Joohari's diligence as a math teacher by day and the warden for the school's dormitory by night.

Nor Asyikin described Joohari as soft-spoken and patient in tutoring his students and inspired by Joohari, she is now a math teacher at Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Burong in Kuala Kurau, Perak.

"Many of us felt comfortable with him...his teaching was focused on not one but many facets of a student's character,” she spoke to Bernama yesterday after meeting with Joohari at Taman Sungai Kechil.

bootstrap slideshow

The native of Sungai Bakap said as a school warden, Joohari cared for the students like his own children with genuine concern about their welfare.

Another former SMKA Nibong Tebal student, Mohd Hafiz Ali Mohd Anuar, 40,  said Joohari went beyond the call of duty as a teacher and warden by spending his money to buy school equipment for less able students.

Mohd Hafiz Ali, an officer at Universiti Sains Malaysia, said Joohari would reach out to students and listen to their problems.

These two former students of Joohari believe that if he is given the mandate to be a representative of the Sungai Bakap constituents, he will go beyond his best ability to help people in need, just as he has done for his students.

Joohari is being challenged by the Nibong Tebal PAS vice president Abidin Ismail of Perikatan Nasional (PN) in a one-on-one clash on July 6.

The seat for the constituency, which has 39,279 registered voters, including 57 police personnel, fell vacant following the death of its incumbent, Nor Zamri Latiff, on May 24 due to stomach inflammation. 

-- BERNAMA