INANAM: “A day before the tragedy, my mother asked me to edit a photo of her with her six siblings. I didn’t realise it would be her final request.”
Those were the heartbreaking words of Khamarul Izwan Abdul Halid, 19, who lost his mother, father, sister, nieces and nephews when a landslide buried their home in a squatter area near Kampung Cenderakasih, Kolombong, earlier today.
Khamarul said his mother, Husaidima Sarabani, in her fifties, had been eager to see an old photo of herself with her six siblings — four of whom have since died.
“Only three of them were still alive at the time, including my mother. I thought it was just a casual request… I never imagined it was her way of saying goodbye,” he said, his voice trembling with emotion.
Khamarul also lost his father, Abdul Halid Darak, also in his fifties, in the tragedy.
He recalled his mother’s final WhatsApp message at 9:14am, reminding him to be careful during the floods.
“I replied, but only saw blue ticks. No response. That was our last conversation.”
He learned of the disaster when a cousin called to say their family home had been destroyed by a landslide.
“My surviving sibling and I rushed home, helped dig through the soil with neighbours before rescue teams arrived. My mother’s body was found around 12:30pm,” he said.
In the landslide at about 10am, seven members of a single family died when their home collapsed near Kampung Cenderakasih, Kolombong.
Besides Husaima and her husband Abd Halid, the deceased were Maslina Abdul Halid, 29; her son Mohd Noriman Abdullah, 9; daughters Siti Khadijah, 4, Mohd Ilham, 2; and their cousin Mohd Izzan Gandi, 7.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
