Tiaran Profile – Anne Gabriel

After she was widowed nearly ten years ago, her eldest daughter, Sharmini Gabriel, gave her the will to live. "My daughter told me that no man is an island. She gave me the strength to live, and her plea to live for them—my children—kept me going," said Mrs. Anne Gabriel, who lives in a ground floor unit of Tiara Damansara.

Her late husband, Mr. T.S.Gabriel, was a Member of Parliament for Pulau Pinang Selatan in Penang a long time ago. Later he was also appointed a Senator by the Yang DiPertuan Agong, and represented Malaysia at the UN General Assembly on several occasions.

Because of his various positions, Anne had the oppor­tunity to meet Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, then Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the Yang DiPertuan Agong, and various Ministers at state and national banquets.

The youngest of six children, all girls, she was 15 when she first set eyes on her future husband in Sungei Patani, Kedah, where she was born, marrying him four years later in l961. She said that her marriage seemed made in heaven and she had 36 years of blissful married life, which ended in l997 when her husband passed away.

Life became meaningless for her then, and she retired from public life, keeping to herself. "But my six children kept me going. It was very hard, but with time, and my children's persistence that I should leave the sadness behind and get on with my life, eventually I got a hold on myself and realised that life must go on," she said reflectively.

She is grateful to her children, five daughters and a son, all graduates, some with two or three degrees to their names. It is a parent's main concern and worry that their children are independent, otherwise parents would worry for them, but fortunately for Anne, all her children were doing well, she added in gratitude.

Her children are all married, and today she is the grandmother of five boys and six girls, ranging from five to fifteen years of age.

Eldest daughter Sharmini, who kept her post-graduate study on hold to be with her father till he passed away, was a Commonwealth Scholarship holder, one of two students selected from the country every year. She completed her Ph.D. in Literature in UK in l997. Currently, she is in Switzerland together with her three children, where her husband, Dr. Terence Gomez, is on a UN assignment.

A twin daughter is the Managing Director of an international company.

Anne moved to Tiara Damansara eight years ago when she initially rented a unit to be close to her workplace, Educare Child Development Centre in Section 16. She rented the unit for three years, and liked it because "it is so peaceful, the environment is so pleasant, and it is also within walking distance to my workplace."

She asked the owner to sell the apartment to her but was told that the unit was her retirement investment. But one day, out of the blue, the owner rang and asked whether she was serious about wanting to buy it. She was so overjoyed when told the owner was considering selling it. "Today I am so happy to own a unit here. I won’t dream of selling this place and will keep it as a holiday home for my grandchildren," she added.

Today, Anne works a 5-day week, Mondays to Fridays, from 8am to 1pm. Her hobbies are walking, which she does faithfully every day from 6 - 7am, gardening, housekeeping and shopping. "I love shopping," she said passionately.

Anne enjoys being in the company of the little ones at the Educare Centre. “Children are so refreshing and joyful to be with,” she smiled.

Besides teaching in her younger days, she also held various other positions. She was the Juvenile Court Adviser in Penang, served as a Committee Member of the Penang Welfare Council for girls and women, was the Honorary Secretary of the Women's Affairs Committee in Penang, and was responsible for organising seminars on Child Abuse and Neglect in l988, and Love and Marriage in l989. She was also a member of Kawan Ku, an organization set up to counsel delinquent juveniles.

Chosen from a field of 200 pre-school teachers to present a farewell speech on the last day of a course on Educating the Young, she ended the speech by dedicating a short poem to all present:

"Aristotle places teachers on a higher plane when he said: 'They who educate children are to be honoured more than those who bear them, for these only give life, those give the art of living well.' "

Today, Anne Gabriel feels she has lived a life fulfilled. "I have discharged all my duties, as a social worker, mother, educator, pre-school teacher and as a friend to my colleagues and friends, to the best of my knowledge," she added.