SISTER MOURNS LOSS OF HAJ PILGRIM: "HER LAST HUG STILL LINGERS"

BATU PAHAT, May 18 (Bernama) -- For Anggiat Tambunan Nordin, the final hug from her elder sister Norizah Tambunan, before the latter left for the Holy Land on May 15, is a moment that will remain etched in her heart forever.

Anggiat Tambunan, 44, said losing her sister at 47 was deeply painful, adding that their lifelong closeness made the loss even harder to bear.

Still, she said the family accepts it as Allah’s will, a passing in the Holy Land, cherished by Muslims everywhere.

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“Our last words to each other were, ‘selamat dunia, selamat akhirat’  (may you be safe and blessed in this world and the hereafter). Remembering that moment makes me emotional, because it was the last time I met and spoke with her, right before she entered the Departure Hall at about 8.20 am at Senai International Airport.

“I was quite shocked when I received the news that my sister had passed away, due to a heart attack, while about to perform tawaf, especially since, according to records, she had no serious health issues,” she told reporters, when met at the deceased’s residence in Kampung Low Piak, Taman Nira, here, today.

She added that, just a few hours before her passing, the deceased had sent a message to the family, informing them that she had arrived safely at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah at 1.30 am local time (Saudi Arabia time).

Anggiat Tambunan also shared that one of the memories she would always cherish was the small prayer corner in the deceased’s home, fondly referred to as a ‘surau’ by family members, where her sister often spent time in worship.

“When she returned home from her work at the Batu Pahat District Office, she would often spend most of her time in the surau - praying, reciting the Quran, and sometimes even sleeping there,” she said.

Meanwhile, the state Islamic Religious Affairs Committee chairman, Mohd Fared Mohd Khalid, extended the state government’s condolences to the family, describing the passing as a significant loss to the state’s civil service.

“The state government has provided compensation amounting to RM7,800, which has been credited to the late Norizah's Tabung Haji (TH) account,” he said.

Norizah Tambunan was confirmed to have died in the compound of the Masjidil Haram, Makkah, on Friday (May 16) at 6.20 am local time (Saudi Arabia time), before being laid to rest at the Sharayaa 64 Cemetery. She was a member of the Johor government haj delegation (RKJ), who arrived in Saudi Arabia on May 15.

-- BERNAMA