Two kids gave $2.30 of Hari Raya money to Malaysia PM Anwar, and received iPads in return

Two siblings in Malaysia were excited to meet Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and gave the Malaysian leader RM7 ($2.30) of duit raya – money gifted during the Hari Raya period to loved ones.

To their surprise, their kind gesture was returned the next day when gifts from Datuk Seri Anwar, which included packets of duit raya, iPads, school supplies and a Quran, were delivered to their home in Terengganu.

“Uwais and Aesha’s sincerity in giving me (Hari Raya) money yesterday was truly moving,” said Mr Anwar in a Facebook post on April 14.

Accompanying the post were photos of Aesha Khadeeja, 10, and Uwais Al Qorni, eight, posing with iPad boxes and duit raya packets featuring Mr Anwar and his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

In the Facebook post, Mr Anwar said that the gifts were “a token of appreciation for their priceless sincerity”, and were meant to encourage the children to pursue knowledge and build a better future.

The encounter with Mr Anwar on April 13 had happened by chance, after the children and their mother saw the Prime Minister’s car.

Mr Anwar was on a one-day working visit to Terengganu that day, and was scheduled to fly back to Kuala Lumpur that night.

“The kids were so excited when they were told that the vehicle that passed us was carrying the Prime Minister,” said the children’s mother, Ms Liza Fadzilah Abdul Hamid, 49, as quoted by local media outlet Kosmo.

“They wanted to meet the Prime Minister.”

To fulfil their wishes, Ms Liza drove to Sultan Mahmud Airport in hopes of catching Mr Anwar.

She and her children waited almost an hour at the airport, but never expected that they would get to interact with the Malaysian leader.

In a video of the interaction posted on Mr Anwar’s Facebook page, he is seen walking towards a gate, where the sounds of children wishing him “Selamat Hari Raya” can be heard.

The children can be seen sticking their arms through the gate’s diamond-shaped holes to pass duit raya packets to him, which he takes before posing for photos with them.

The video then cuts to Mr Anwar opening the packets on the plane, where he pulls out RM2 from one of the envelopes and RM5 from the other.

“It’s been so long, years, since I’ve received duit raya,” says Mr Anwar with a smile on his face.

Speaking to Kosmo, Aesha said she and her brother had given the RM7 from their pocket money.

“We gave duit raya because it’s still the month of Syawal,” said Aesha.

Muslims celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri during the Islamic month of Syawal, which this year runs from March 21 to April 18.