Manpower, legal limitations hinder search for missing teen
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian high commission in Wellington is exhausting all efforts to locate Malaysian teen Mohd Haziq Mohd Tarmizi, listed as missing following the attacks on two mosques in Christchurch.
However, a spokesman from the high commission said it could only do so much due to a lack of manpower and legal limitations.
The New Straits Times was made to understand that Malaysian representatives in Christchurch were checking with hospitals as well as the authorities and local communities.
Haziq, 17, is the son of Mohd Tarmizi Shuib, 42, who is being treated for gunshot wounds at Christchurch Hospital following Friday’s massacre at the Al Noor Mosque.
Tarmizi’s sister, who wanted to be known only as Mariani, 49, told the NST that there has been no updates on Haziq’s whereabouts.
She said she, her brother, Zakaria, and their cousin, Nordiana, were flying to Christchurch.
She asked Malaysians to pray for her nephew in the hopes of positive news.
On the legal limitations, the high commission spokesman said due to the country’s Privacy Act 1993, the best hope was for an update from the New Zealand government.
He said the New Zealand government had stated that it would release all the names of the deceased by tomorrow after it finished contacting family members.
Tarmizi’s other son, Mohd Haris, 12, is undergoing treatment at one of the children’s hospitals in Christchurch for trauma.
Two other Malaysians — Mohd Nazril Hisham Omar, 46, and Rahimi Ahmad, 39 — were injured in the attack. They are being treated at Christchurch Hospital and are reported to be in stable condition.