A Mother’s Day full of sorrow

BATU PAHAT — It will be a sorrowful Mother’s Day for 77-year-old Habsah Umar after losing her third child in a helicopter crash in Pakistan.

Habsah was devastated after learning that her daughter, Datin Habibah Mahmud, was among those killed after a military helicopter they were in had crashed into a school at Naltar Valley on Friday.

She remembered her daughter as a friendly person always with a smile who never failed to help others around her.

“She called me from Pakistan about two weeks ago and that was the last we spoke,” Habsah told The Star at her home in Pekan Semerah here on Saturday.

The tearful mother-of-nine said Habibah was supposed to return to Malaysia for good in two years following her husband’s retirement.

“Her husband has been serving in Pakistan for two years now and they were supposed to return after his four-year service in 2017.

“I was shocked to learn of the news on television and we have yet to be informed whether her remains would be brought back to her hometown here,” Habsah added.

Habsah said Habibah’s eldest of three children had left for Pakistan on Saturday.

Family members are gathering at their home while close friends were also seen dropping by to convey their condolences.

It was reported that Habibah was on board the helicopter with her husband Datuk Dr. Hasrul Sani Mujtabar, who is the High Commissioner of Malaysia to Pakistan, along with several other diplomats and their spouses on an official program when it crashed.

Dr. Hasrul Sani survived the crash and is being treated at Gilgit Hospital in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Bernama reported that Habibah’s remains were expected to arrive in Malaysia Sunday or Monday and would be buried in Batu Pahat, Johor.