‘Children can't bear with loss of father,' says mother 54 days post-natal

KUALA LUMPUR - A mother who has just concluded her maternity leave after the birth of her third child, said she has to stay strong to raise her children after her husband was killed in the Beechcraft 390 (Premier 1) Elmina plane crash in Shah Alam yesterday.

Adlina Aisyah Ahmad Rusli, 41, whose third child is only 54 days old, said she learnt about the tragedy that befell her husband Idris Abdol Talib @ Ramali, 41, when her brother shared a link from a media portal.

She said her late husband was to have been greeted by one of her brothers at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang after departing for Langkawi on business on Wednesday.

"The deceased, who was a special officer to Pahang Local Government, Housing, Environment and Green Technology Committee chairman Datuk Seri Johari Harun, left Kuantan for Langkawi on Wednesday and was scheduled to return after the meeting held on Thursday morning.

"Following that, I was told that he was returning after business and the crash happened just two minutes before landing,” she said when contacted by Bernama.

Adlina Aisyah said at that juncture, she thought the deceased was still in Langkawi.

"But then the brother who was supposed to pick up my husband at the airport informed me that there was news of an incident and could not reach my husband. Then we received confirmation from police regarding the crash,” she said.

She said the loss of her husband was deeply felt by her 14 and 10-year-old children because he was a loving and family-oriented father and when news broke, it was difficult for them to accept the news of his death.

"However, I ask them to simmer down over the tragedy. Furthermore, I needed to be strong considering that my third child is just 54 days old,” she said.

Adlina Aisyah said her late husband did not exhibit any sense of foreboding and went to work as usual.

The deceased was a Pahang state government official who served at the Raub District Islamic Religious Office as an enforcement officer but was on unpaid leave earlier this year after serving as a special officer to Johari.

She said the deceased’s body will be brought back to Bentong.

"We will see what the current situation is like, so far our plan is to bring it back to Bentong and bury it in the Bara Islamic cemetery. I will linger on in Kuala Lumpur for information from the hospital to receive and manage his remains,” she said.

Meanwhile, Raub’s Islamic Religious Office through its official Facebook also expressed its condolences to the family of the deceased on his passing.

"We pray that God will grant peace and forbearance to us all in the advent of the passing of the deceased. We at the Raub District Islamic Religious Office bear witness to the goodness of the deceased all this time,” said the message.

Yesterday (Thursday), a Beechcraft Model 390 (Premier 1) plane crashed on the Guthrie Highway near Bandar Elmina resulting in the death of 10 people including Johari.

The eight aboard the plane who died were six passengers and two pilots while the other two collateral deaths were civilians, a motorcyclist and a motorist, who happened to be at ground zero.

The plane which left Langkawi for Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (LTSAAS) secured permission to land at 2.50pm but plunged two minutes before landing. - BERNAMA