AN obituary to commemorate the life of Sabahan Haryanie binti Jamil who would have turned 39 yesterday (June 7) and to pay tribute to her as an organ donor has achieved more than what it was meant for.
Portraying the Keningau-born mother of three as a loving mother and a devout Christian, the poster of Haryanie’s obituary Borneo – a societal and cultural Facebook page – highlighted that she had always encouraged her children to be present at church every Sunday.
But alas, after the diagnosis of brain death was confirmed in December 2024, Haryanie’s family – despite still being in grief – made a noble decision by donating her pair of kidneys to another patient in need.
Interestingly, in Haryanie’s death, Peninsular Malaysians in general and Muslims in particular also get to learn that it is common for Sabahan and Sarawakian Christians to have Muslim-sounding names or even “bin” or “binti” affixed to their names.
This is after a commenter courteously posed the question as to why Haryanie has “binti” attached to her name when she is a Christian.
One presumably Christian commenter contended that “bin” or “binti” “are not intended to distinguish one’s faith but to ascertain one’s gender”.
Another explained that “Bin, Binti & Bte” are merely English abbreviations – “Bin” means ‘belong in name’ when the child is a male born to a known father; “Binti” to mean ‘belong in name to initial’ when the child born is a female; and “Bte” means ‘belong to Eve’ when the father of the child is not known.
Many Bornean Christians also came to Haryani’s defence after one Muslim commenter claimed that while her action to donate her organs was very noble, “it was a shame that she didn’t really get know Allah who created her but instead even committed shirk”.
They enlightened the commenter that the late Haryani has been a Christian since birth despite the “binti” in her name (which is common among Sabahans and Sarawakians) with one sarcastically chastised the Muslim commenter as “living under a coconut shell”.
Another Muslim commenter who recited her Al-Fatihah (Muslim prayer for the deceased) for Haryani was reminded that the latter is a Christian since birth. The commenter was also ticked off for not being mindful of the Christian cross on the image that accompanied Haryani’s obituary.
To sum up, Haryanie binti Jamil has in her death done two great deeds to Malaysians – as an organ donor by parting with both her kidneys for a good cause and for schooling ill-informed or narrow-minded Malaysians about the true meaning of religious diversity.
May Haryanie’s soul rest in eternal peace. – June 8, 2025
