‘Death never comes at the right time, despite what mortals believe. Death always comes like a thief.’
– Bestselling young adult novelist, Christopher Pike in “The Last Vampire.”
MALAYSIA is currently mourning the deaths of ten Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) officers and personnel who perished when a Maritime Operations Helicopter (HOM) and a Fennec helicopter collided and crashed at the Lumut base in Perak at 9.32 am on Tuesday, April 23.
The helicopters collided mid-air and crashed during a rehearsal for the 90th anniversary celebration of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) scheduled for May 3 to 5.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim described the crash as a “heart-wrenching tragedy” that deeply affected the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) family and a “great loss for the country.”
He extended his condolences to the affected families and prayed for them to be given strength in facing the tragedy.
The King, Sultan Ibrahim, also expressed his sadness and condolences to the affected families.
“ I and Raja Zarith (the Queen) are deeply saddened by the loss of our nation’s heroes in this tragedy. May they be placed among the believers and martyrs,” said the King.
The Sultan of Selangor, Sharafuddin Idris Shah, who serves as the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) Captain-in-Chief, said he deeply mourned and grieved for the heart-wrenching tragedy. He also extended his condolences to the families of the victims, urging them to find strength in the face of the tragedy.
Saying the loss of the 10 RMN members was a significant loss to both the RMN and the nation, he prayed for their souls to find eternal peace.
The Ministry of Defence is now investigating the cause of the accident.
On Wednesday, April 24, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the interim report on the crash would be ready within two weeks while the full report would be published or prepared within a month.
By now, all victims — eight Muslims, one Indian and one Christian — have been buried with full military honours.
The funeral prayers and final respects for the eight Muslim victims were carried out at the 23rd Malay Royal Regiment Camp in Ipoh on Wednesday before their bodies made the final journey to their respective destinations for funeral and burial purposes.
The body of another victim, Lt T. Sivasutan, 31, was taken to his family residence in Sitiawan, Perak before it was cremated on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the remains of the last victim, Senior Seaman JJM Joanna Felicia Rohna, 26, arrived at the RMAF Air Base in Kuching at 11.54 pm on Thursday.
Personally, stories of the crash in the mass media have reopened a deep wound in my heart. It makes me remember how I felt when I lost my younger brother, Seng, 40, in 2002.
Still single, he worked as a captain in a coffeehouse in Kuching. He left for work one afternoon and never came home.
My family and I searched high and low for him. His body was found almost a month later, covered under a pile of rocks and zinc sheets, in a big drain in Demak Laut Industrial Park in Kuching. He had been murdered.
American singer, Trisha Yearwood’s song “How do you live without you” comes to my mind as I recall the tragedy of my brother’s death and think about those left behind by the victims of the helicopter crash in Lumut.
My friends, it took years for my family to come to terms with my brother’s untimely death. He was helpful in and outside the house. Whenever he was not working, he would help with the household chores and fetch our nephews and nieces from school. I think the deep wound in my heart remains until today.
Do you know that since my brother’s death, my family has stopped cooking the dishes he used to cook? Just eating them will make all of us think of him and cry.
In the case of the helicopter crash, it is certainly not easy for those left behind to move on. It will take years for the deep wounds in their hearts to heal. Some of those left behind might never recover from the tragedy.
All the ten RMN officers and personnel who died in the Lumut helicopter crash were below 40 years old. Some were parents with young children. For example, Senior Seaman JJM Joanna Felicia Rohna, the Serian girl who was buried at the Kampung Engkeroh cemetery near Tebakang, left behind a four-year-old daughter and one-year-old son.
It is good to note that the Malaysian government is doing all it can to help the victims’ families.
Immediately after the tragedy, relatives were flown to West Malaysia to identify the bodies and the MAF covered all expenses for the funeral arrangements. The government has also promised financial support for the victims’ families.
According to the Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, her ministry in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, will offer counselling support to the affected families as well.
She pointed out that counseling services were important in helping the families to deal with their losses.
“At the moment, they have a lot of people around them so they might feel the loss a bit less. However, afterward, hey may start experiencing things and perhaps depression will set in. We need to introduce services that can assist families,” said Nancy.
The minister added that she had discussed counselling for the children at the school level with the education minister.
“The Ministry of Education will handle it. For family members, we will take care of it,” she told reporters during a visit to the family of the late Senior Seaman JJM Joanna Felicia Rohna at her husband’s residence in Kampung Engkeroh on Friday.
The tragedy, Malaysia’s worst helicopter crash, is the eighth such incident in the past nine years.
Yesterday, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the government had no plans to temporarily suspend the service of Fennec and HOM helicopters.
According to a Bernama report, he was asked if there was a need to suspend the services of both types of helicopters following the crash on Tuesday morning.
“So far it’s not in that direction (temporary suspension),” he told reporters.
Tuesday’s helicopter crash reminds us, humans, how fragile our lives are and how death often comes unexpectedly. Since it occurs with little or no warning, sudden death often leaves survivors unprepared for the loss.
It reminds us we are all pilgrims on Earth and that we are here today and gone tomorrow.
My friends, since life is short, let us live it well. Let’s work hard, love our family members, be kind to one another and those around us and be grateful to God for His blessings every day.
