Losing adopted son drives Abdol Aziz to pen 'Budak Luar Kotak' novel

Dr Abdol Aziz Sahat had long harboured a desire to express his memories of bringing up 17 adopted children but time constraint and work commitment forced him to lay off his intention.

It was only after the death of one of his adopted son, Mudzafar Azrein, in a road accident in January, 2014, did Abdol Aziz, a motivational expert, realised he could brook no delay.

"After Mudzafar died, he was 32-years-old at that time, I was very sad and knew I had to do something about my intention. The experience of bringing them up is truly meaningful and sweet for me. It is among the most beautiful memories in my life," he told reporters after the launch of his book 'Budak Luar Kotak' (Kid Outside The Box) here Thursday.

The book is a motivational novel and Abdol Aziz's maiden work, a compilation of bitter-sweet tales of bringing up his adopted children, who also shared their growing up experiences with the author.

"I held a meeting with my adopted children to get their stories before the actual writing began about two months after Mudzafar's death," he explained.

Abdol Aziz, who is also an alumnus of Universiti Malaya, (UM) said he met the children when giving motivational courses in schools or were introduced to him by someone.

Taking the late Mudzafar and another of his adopted son, an Indian, Nantha as examples, Abdol Aziz narrated how he started to know them and subsequently decided to adopt them.

"The late Mudzafar came to me at the age of 17, due to family problems and needed help to revive his flagging spirit in his study. Meanwhile, Nantha was attracted to my motivational talks at his school.

"Before, I left, he came to me and gave me a note with the question 'Can you be my dad?' He is now a Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) pilot and his story is in the novel," he added.

The motivational novel was about six of his 17 adopted children who had nothing at the outset but were now successful in their respective careers.

Asked why he wrote about only six of them, he said they had story lines and life's challenges which were very strong and clear.

"Their trials and tribulations (in life) are close to my heart. I love them very much," added Abdol Aziz who has five children of his own.

In the meantime, he also announced that a sequel of the novel had just been completed and he was in the process of completing the third series, which he dedicated to the late Mudzafar.

A total 10,000 copies of the 362-page work were published by Syarikat Ilham Pena Publishing and would be sold at RM35 each for peninsula Malaysia and RM37 for Sabah and Sarawak.

The event which was launched by UM Pro Chancellor Toh Puan Datuk Seri Dr Aishah Ong was also attended by UM alumni and four of Abdol Aziz's adopted children. -- Bernama