Trapped For 13 Months, A Cross-Causeway Homecoming

A year and a month. That’s how long one Malaysian man was trapped across the Malaysia-Singapore Causeway, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thankfully, as of the 15th of February (last Monday), this unplanned-for exile came to an end.

In a heart-warming TikTok video posted by the man’s sister-in-law, we see the man finally walk into his home after being separated from his family for more than a year. On posting the video, it was captioned “Terkejut dapat surprise papa dia balik. Setahun tak jumpa sebab covid ni. 10 kali aku tgok, 10 kali aku menangis (Shocked by the surpise of papa coming home. Haven’t met for a year because of this Covid. Watched it 10 times and cried 10 times.)”.

Walking through his own front door after nearly a year (Image Source: TikTok)

The reunion was equal parts tearful and happy, with his sister-in-law remarking that she’d re-watched the video about 10 times- and cried each time as she did. The video starts off with him walking into his house and calling out “Assalamualaikum” as he walks in. On seeing their dad in the flesh rather than over the phone, his children, dumbfounded, just uttered “Abah??? (Dad???)”, and were staring in confusion.

His wife, in the meanwhile, could not hold back tears of joy, and started crying on screen. (*sniffs* …we’re not crying…someone’s chopping onions, that’s all…) There were laughs and tears abound by onlookers as well, as they witnessed the long-awaited reunion.

“Hey guys!” “DAD?!?!?!!?” (Image Source: TikTok)

The comments section was equally touching and wistful, with some commenters conveying their well-wishes to the newly reunited family. Others, while sharing their happiness for the family, wistfully lamented that they were still separated from their partners/ family members until now, with other viewers commiserating with them.