KUCHING: A mother to a boy who is being detained in Cambodia wants to personally go there to see her son’s condition but due to safety reason, she will have to leave it to the Malaysian government to bring her son and the others home safely.
Zunita Sedini, is a mother to their eldest son Yusuf Islam Abdul Halik, 21, who is among 47 Malaysians being detained at Banteay Meanchey Prison, Cambodia since Dec 11 last year.
“Due to safety reason, I can’t go there. But I know Yusuf is strong,” she said at a press conference in their house at Jalan Duranta here, yesterday.
Five family members of other detainees were also present at the press conference.
“Yusuf is strong because he has ideas of how to look for me,” she sobbed.
Zunita last contacted her son Yusuf on Dec 9 last year.
Two weeks later she received an international call from Yusuf when he told his mother that he has been arrested and wanted her to help bring him back home.
“I know the other detainees are strong too and I hope we all continue to pray for their safety,” she said, adding that she couldn’t imagine how stressful the children in jail.
When asked on what she would do when all the 47 detainees are released, Zunita said: “As a mother, including the other parents, we will definitely hold a big welcome home ceremony for them.”
“I don’t know the reason for them to be detained because they all have good intention. They were in fact promised a three-month job with high pay and hoping that with that kind of money they would be able to help their families.
“Hence, my advice to job seekers out there is to be careful. To other parents if your child tells you that there is a lucrative job offer overseas, just reject it,” she said, adding that Yusuf was told he will be doing an electrical job in Cambodia.
Zunita also said it was better for youths to work in their own hometown and not to trust any job offers that were too good to be true.
“I have kept this matter for two months. I cried and don’t know how to bring him (Yusuf) back.
“But luckily our family’s friend who has a contact with the Malaysian embassy offered his help and had requested to meet Yusuf and the rest,” she said.
She added that the friend concerned got the approval and went to see the detainees on Jan 22 accompanied by a Malaysian embassy officer.
“That was how I knew Yusuf and the rest are safe and I also believe that they are being treated well in jail,” she said.
Zunita also conveyed her appreciation to the Malaysian and Sarawak Governments for their support and making every effort to bring back the 47 detained Malaysians in Cambodia.
