REUNITED WITH LONG-LOST DAUGHTER
She returns after going missing for two years
AMOTHER’S plea to anyone who would listen to bring her daughter home was answered yesterday. The 51-year-old mother, Normah Yusof, could not stop hugging her daughter, Nurul Farhana Ahmad, when the two were finally reunited after Nurul, her only daughter, had gone missing for two years. She is the fourth of five siblings.
Nurul Farhana, 25, reportedly followed an Indonesian man, known as Andika, back to his country until she called her mother a few weeks ago to say that she wanted to come home.
Efforts to track down and bring Nurul Farhana back started when Sungai Besar member of parliament Budiman Mohd Zohdi took up the case.
He was moved by Normah’s heartfelt plea for her daughter to return.
Normah said she was in the dark as to why her daughter, who worked in a factory, had decided to leave abruptly.
She said the past should remain in the past, as she was ready to move forward with her daughter, who has a 15-month-old son, called Askara Alfatih Ali.
“No matter what the reason is, we as a family will move on, and I accept my grandson,” said Normah, who was starting to bond with the toddler, whom she met for the first time yesterday.
Nurul Farhana arrived from Medan with her son at 2.30pm and was accompanied by Budiman.
After settling documentation issues upon her arrival, she and her son met her family members at the arrival hall nearly two hours later.
The soft-spoken Nurul Farhana said she was grateful to be back with her family.
“I just want to forget the sad episodes in my life,” she said, without elaborating.
Budiman said Nurul Farhana had been staying at a village in Batubara, located about five hours away from Kuala Namu town.
“She was left to raise her son with the help of relatives in Indonesia. We managed to track her down with the help of a nongovernmental organisation, Nusa Sentris Malaysia-Indonesia.”
Budiman said he had the support of the Malaysian government and the country’s top leaders, including the prime minister and deputy prime minister to bring her home.
“What she went through was very personal, and she broke down in tears each time we asked her what had happened,” he said.
He said his side was in the midst of resolving issues of documentation for Nurul Farhana and her son, and were looking into ways to help her become financially independent.
“Nurul Farhana and her family reside in Sekinchan. It is my role as MP to help those in my constituency.”