PEKAN: A 12-year-old boy died after he is believed to have drowned while trying to save his younger brother who fell into a canal at Kampung Permatang Tepung near here yesterday.
The incident occurred at about 6.30pm, when Muhammad Alif Fahmi Abdullah attempted to rescue his nine-year-old brother, Muhammad Rayan Firrdaus, but was swept away by strong currents.
Their father, Abd Rahim Saidin, 40, said his eldest son, affectionately called “Abang”, had gone to the area with about 10 village friends to catch fighting fish following rising water levels after several days of rain.
“They often went there to catch fish and nothing bad had ever happened before,” he said when met today.
Abd Rahim recalled that the night before the tragedy, Alif had eaten unusually well at dinner.
“Last night he ate so well. He enjoyed rice with sambal telur and took four helpings, he usually doesn’t eat much.
“I never imagined that would be a sign before he left us. I accept this as a test, but it is a heavy loss for us. He had always been close to us since he was small,” he said.
The grieving father also shared his regret over a recent incident involving Alif and his new school shoes.
“He had pleaded to wear his new black shoes during his school graduation ceremony at SK Merchong Jaya, but I asked him to wait and wear them next year. I did not expect that he would never get the chance,” he said.
The canal is located about 100m from their house.
Abd Rahim rushed to the site after neighbours alerted him, and villagers immediately began searching.
“His body was found at 7.15pm,” he said.
The victim’s friend, Amirul Hakimi Mahyuddin, 12, who was with the boys, said Rayan had slipped and fallen into the canal while they were catching fish.
“I managed to grab Rayan’s hand. Alif quickly went in to save his brother, but the current was too strong and swept him away,” he said.
He added that the group had caught about 30 fighting fish before the tragedy and that he would no longer continue the hobby after witnessing the incident.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
