Fatimah, Wan Junaidi bring tears of joy, hopes to 47 in Cambodian prison
BANTEAY MEANCHEY, Cambodia: The Sarawak government representatives brought smiles to the faces of all 47 Malaysian detainees earlier today.
The representatives comprising Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah, Santubong MP Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, Sarawak Foreign Affairs director Deddy Faisal Ahmad, and a special officer from Fatimah’s ministry visited the detainees at the Banteay Meanchey Provincial Prison.
Some of the detainees, especially those who know Fatimah and Wan Junaidi, shed tears of joy when the two visitors made their appearance.
It was a brief meeting and Fatimah barely managed to pass some sanitary pads to one of the detainees whose mother had met Fatimah and requested the minister to pass these to her daughter.
When asked on the visit, Fatimah said it gave her and the delegates a better understanding of the situation in the prison.
“The Sarawak government would like to convey our appreciation to the Cambodian government for taking good care of the detainees.
“Thank you for accommodating their needs,” she said.
She said the prison chief had requested that the state government write in officially to them to ensure the welfare of the detainees are taken care of.
“We will write in through the Malaysian Embassy, because some of them have skin allergies while others need their spectacles, so we need write in,” she said.
“Some of the detainees want me to tell their parents they are truly sorry for lying…for not telling the truth, and that they love their parents so much,” she said.
Fatimah said she advised them to continue to pray and have faith in God.
“I also advised them to look after their health both physically and mentally.”
Deputy Chief of Mission/Charge d’Affaires, Embassy of Malaysia in Cambodia Ruzaimi Mohamad, in a short note, thanked Prison Chief General Ung Siphan for giving the delegates from Sarawak the permission to visit the detainees.
Earlier Fatimah and group had arrived at Siem Reap International Airport at 7.50am, and were schedule to make the visit at 2pm.
The delegation is scheduled to return to Malaysia on Saturday from Phnom Penh International Airport.
