Malaysian girl recalls father’s message before bodies found in submerged car
Putri Qisya, sole survivor of Kedah river tragedy, says her father told her not to be sad, as she grapples with the devastation
The sole surviving member of a family of seven who drowned when their car plunged into a river in Kedah last week has recalled seeing her father in a dream, telling her not to be sad, in a tragedy that has gripped Malaysia.
Putri Qisya Nur Izzat, 12, had stayed behind at her grandmother’s house on the day of the accident. She recounted on Monday dreaming of her father, 32-year-old Mohamad Azim Izat Ishak, who told her he could only watch over her from afar.
“Dad said, don’t be sad or I won’t be at peace,” she told reporters. “When I woke up, I found out they had found the vehicle and everyone was gone.”
Putri Qisya’s six family members, including her nine-month-old baby brother, were returning home on Friday when they were reported missing the next morning. Their sedan was discovered on Monday submerged in the seven-metre-deep (22 feet) Korok River in Jitra district, just a metre from the riverbank.
Ahmad Aminuddin Abd Rahim, a senior fire and rescue officer, said authorities received calls from the public who spotted the car floating in the river on Monday. Rescuers had to break the vehicle’s windows and cut open the roof to retrieve the bodies, all found packed in the back seat, indicating the family could have been trying to escape through the rear window.
Speaking stoically in front of press cameras at the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Setar, Putri Qisya also recalled her mother, 31-year-old Nurul Hidayah Khadijah Razman Efendi, once giving her the same advice – to be strong as the eldest child so her siblings would not feel sad seeing her sorrow.
“But mum said, if I am going away, I will make sure I bring everyone along. I don’t want to trouble people,” she recounted.
The family was buried on Monday night as per Islamic rites at the Kampung Bohor Karang Muslim cemetery, next to the grave of another child, a son, who died in February.
Putri Qisya will now live with her grandmother and aunt.
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