Relieved wife worried about other hostages
KOTA KINABALU: Tears of joy flowed freely for housewife Gustiah Sultan, 46, after being told that her husband Tayudin Anjut was one of the two abductees rescued by Philippine security forces in the southern Jolo island.
The other freed Malaysian was 62-year-old Abd Rahim Summas.
Five sailors were abducted from a tugboat in waters off Dent Haven in Lahad Datu on July 18 last year.
The others still being held by Abu Sayyaf gunmen were Mohd Zumadil Rahim, 23, Fandy Bakran, 26, and Mohd Ridzuan Ismail, 32.
While relieved to be told that her husband had been rescued, Gustiah looks forward to seeing her hus- band back home in Kampung Tanjung Batu Darat, Tawau.
She said their son Muhd Bahrin Tayudin, five, was unaware that his father had been kidnapped.
“I’m thankful that my husband and Abd Rahim have been freed but I worry for the other three who remain in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf. We are all related and we are praying for them,” she said.
Also praying for the safe release of the remaining three sailors is housewife Hariyanti Hamsih, 31, who is worried about the health of her husband Mohd Ridzuan.
“I am happy for Tayudin and Abd Rahim’s family but I worry about my husband and the others. I hope they are all right,” she said.
Abd Rahim and Tayudin are Hariyanti’s uncles while Fandy and Mohd Zumadil are her cousin and nephew, respectively.
Meanwhile, Philippines military spokesman Colonel Edgard Arevalo said the two Malaysian hostages who were rescued from the notorious Abu Sayyaf in the swampy areas along a coastal village of Jolo were disoriented and scared.
They have been sent to the Camp Teodulfo Station Hospital in Jolo for medical observation. They would also be debriefed before steps are taken for them to return to Malaysia.
The rescue operation was held at 2am on Wednesday at the Kalingalan Caluang swamp area in Jolo.
It was learned that an elite Philippines military unit moved into the wetlands where some 30 armed Abu Sayyaf criminials holding the five Malaysians were trying to move out of the island into Paka island, southeast of Jolo island.