Sweden ordeal was 'blessing in disguise - Shalwati

Shalwati Norshal, who returned to Malaysia after being jailed in Sweden for hitting her children, said she is grateful to her family and their support following the bitter ordeal, which she described as ‘blessing in disguise’.

“We love and support each other.”

“This is a blessing in disguise. The government helped in every way. The children received extra support for the Bahasa Melayu language, which I cannot get it if we were to come back on our own. My kids would struggle. But coming back here, we got full support from government and family,” she said from her family home in Kelantan.

“Of course people will say things, but people won’t stop talking. We leave that aside and move on. We take what is positive from the whole thing.”

[PHOTO GALLERY]: SHALWATI NORSHAL RETURNS HOME AFTER 14 MONTHS IMPRISONMENT

Shalwati, 46, was reunited with her family in Kota Bahru after being freed serving a 14-month jail sentence at the Hinseberg Prison in Frovi.

She arrived at Sultan Ismail Petra airport in Pengkalan Chepa from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at 7.40pm on Monday to a warm welcome by her husband, Azizul Raheem Awalludin, 38, and children – Aisyah, 15, Ammar, 13, Adam, and Arif, 8 – as well as other family members.

On March 29, Shalwati and Azizul, a Tourism Malaysia officer in Stockholm, were sentenced by Solna District Court in Stockholm to imprisonment for hitting their four children from September 2010.

Azizul was released on July 9 after a three-month jail sentence.

The couple’s intention has always been to educate their children to adhere to the teachings of Allah, Shalwati said of the hitting incident.

” At that time, he (Arif) scolded his sister, so I said ‘you must take the wuduk so that you calm down’. He said no. But he’s a boy. He told his friends (of the incident) and that’s about it. He is a good boy,” Shalwati explained, adding that she will not blame her children for what has happened.

Instead, the difficulties the family had endured brought them closer, said Shalwati’s eldest child, Aisyah.

“I think after all these things that happened; our relationship in the family will be very tight.”

Meanwhile, Azizul said the incident has taught him the importance of putting family first in any situation

“Family always comes first. Be it when facing hardships or the good times, family will help us. If we forget our family, they forget us too. The ties must be strong.”

Following Shalwati and Azizul’s arrest, the children were placed under the care of Swedish foster families before they were handed to the Malaysian Embassy in Stockholm on Jan 30.

They have since been placed under the custody of an aunt in Kelantan.