True Blue Policemen To The End, Say Families After Two Killed In The Line Of Duty

JOHOR BAHRU, May 17 (Bernama) -- Azhar Khaiden, the father of the late Constable Ahmad Azza Fahmi, was adamant that he will never stop any of his children from joining the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) even after the dreaded news today that his son was killed in the line of duty.

Azhar, 54, a teacher at Sekolah Kebangsaan Felda Sungai Kelah, Sungkai, Perak said he was jolted but remained calm despite the tragedy that had struck down his fourth child.

“He is a good son and wanted to be a policeman since childhood. I'm not regretting because his brother is also a policeman in Sabah, and his younger sister will attend a police interview this Monday. Hopefully his younger brother will replace his older brother one day.

“Even if we cry tears of blood, those who depart will still leave and those who are still here need to continue living, we all belong to God,” he said at the grounds of the Department of Forensics of the Sultan Ismail Hospital (HSI) here today.

The mathematics and history teacher said he received a call about the fate of his 22-year-old son at 2.53 am today, before he rushed off to Johor Bahru.

“The authorities have laws and I leave this matter to the Almighty, my sadness is kept in my heart, not visible on the outside. My memories of him will last forever. But a father’s reaction to his child’s end is definitely a sad one,” he said.

According to Azhar, the last time he met his son Ahmad Azza was during Ramadan when his son returned to his family home in Perak.

“During Aidilfitri, he could not take a holiday. We understood as he was new to his job and during the five days off in Ramadan, he spent time with his family at home for five days. When we met up, he didn't show any change, last night we chatted as usual in the family’s WhatsApp group, so I was surprised to receive the shocking news this morning,” he said, adding that his son will be buried in Kampung Poh, Bidor tomorrow.

Earlier, Azhar arrived at the Forensic Department at 6.45 pm, along with his wife Nurhaliza Awaluddin and some of their children.

In KUANTAN, Ahmad Said Md Piah, 65, the father of Constable Muhamad Syafiq, 24, the second policemen who died alongside constable Ahmad Azza Fahmi in the Ulu Tiram attack, at first thought the ghostly news was a scam.

“I remember only people making up such stories or in scams,” said the retired army man who received a phone call about his son’s demise around 8 am today when he was in the garden before trudging home to his wife Aini Mohd Shariff, 57.

“Police phoned to inform about it, it was a bit hard to believe that Syafiq had died from a gunshot... I really didn’t think it was true. I went back home and talked to my wife and then checked with another son who works as a police officer in Kuala Lumpur and he said that it is true that Syafiq was shot,” he said in tears at his residence here today.

In a flashback, the father of eight said Muhamad Syafiq was so keen to be an uniformed serviceman that he pulled out the plug on Forensic Science as a career at a college in the national capital to join the men in blue.

“After completing STPM (Secondary school form six), Syafiq studied on for two years at the college before quitting to join the police, but he intended to resume his studies after that,” Ahmad Said said.

Meanwhile, his wife Aini remembered her son as a good listener who often made phone calls to say ‘hello’ to the queen of his heart since he started working at the police station last year.

“This Raya, he didn’t come back … He also wanted to start a family, but I advised him to delay it because he was new to work and ‘Yes’ he agreed... he was the type to go along with what mother says,” beamed the housewife.

“He made the family proud, we, as a family, readily accept the fate of his passing,” said the brother of Constable Muhamad Syafiq, a glowing tribute from Abdul Salam Ahmad Said who is himself a policeman serving in Kuala Lumpur, when Bernama met him at the Forensics Department.

He was literally walking his brother Syafiq, 22, through his early days in the process until he became a full-fledged policeman.

Abdul Salam, 33, said he was supportive of his younger brother’s bold ambition as was his family too. “I myself took him for the interview and the next process (and so on),” he said, recalling the last time he saw his brother in January.

Abdul Salam said that although the incident that befell the seventh of eight siblings has had a profound impact on the family, their last tribute to his younger brother who was able to serve in the Royal Malaysian Police force for about two years … can only be a SALUTE!

-- BERNAMA