'I prayed for
this'
KOTA KINABALU: Masniah Talib was at a loss
for words on hearing the voice of her only son, Zulkarnain Hashim, for the first time in
62 days when h made a long distance call late Saturday evening.
The 48-year-old Masniah, when contacted in
Tawau by Daily Express on Sunday, said all of them including her daughter-in-law Siti
Hajar Jakiah were overcome with joy.
There was initial surprise and disbelief
that it was indeed Zulkarnain when he called at about 5.30pm from Zamboanga City.
"He told us he had been released and
was calling from (Robert) Aventajado's house during an early dinner before being flown to
Manila to meet President Joseph Estrada and, subsequently, to be handed over to the
Malaysia authorities there," she said.
"I have been praying hard for this
moment over the last two months," she said.
Following the news, their house at Jalan
Airport Lama, near SK Bandar, in Tawau, was packed with reporters and well-wishers,
including former Tawau MP Chua Soon Bui.
According to her, the family would be
flying to Kota Kinabalu on Monday for a brief meeting with Zulkarnain who is expected to
arrive here from Manila, on transit enroute to Kuala Lumpur.
Masniah said their airfare to Kota Kinabalu
was being sponsored by Chua while the national Security Division here had also called up
to assure that they should not worry about their accomodation and other expenses while
here.
Meanwhile, an alerted Siti Hajar Jakiah, a
26-year-old teacher at SMK Abaka, said she could not wait to see her husband again.
"Zulkarnain called us three times
already, twice on Saturday and once on Sunday at about 9am," she said.
She said she and their three children - a
three-year-old boy, 19-month-old girl and three-month-old boy - missed Zulkarnain very
much, and the only imge they had of him was on the television news and newspapers for the
past two months.
"His voice was faint, and had asked
about the children as well as the health of his mother and mine," she said.
"This (Sunday) morning Zulkarnain also
made his voice heard on the telephone to th children. He did not say if he would call
again but we are hoping he would," she said.
Back to Sipadan Hostages News
Back
to This Week's Borneo News |
