Adib laid to rest in hometown
Family and friends gather to say final farewell to fireman
ALOR SETAR: Hopes of relatives and friends in Kampung Tebengau, Kuala Kedah, of seeing firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim marry his sweetheart Nurul Najihah Mohd Radzi were dashed after the 24-year-old man succumbed to his injuries.
Muhammad Adib was to have married 25-year-old Nurul with a feast this Saturday at Mentaloon near here, but yesterday his body was returned home to Kampung Tebengau for burial.
A Fire and Rescue Department’s Mi-17 helicopter with a casket bearing Muhammad Adib’s body, his father Mohd Kassim Abdul Hamid, 63, mother Asma Aziz, 50, and Nurul landed at 10.30am on the grounds of SK Tebengau about 500m away from his home where more than a thousand villagers had gathered.
Two other helicopters with Housing and Local Government Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Mohammad Mentek, the department’s director- general Mohammad Hamdan Wahid and deputy director-general (operation) Datuk Soiman Jahid also landed in the school field.
His casket, draped with the Jalur Gemilang, was then taken home in a Fire Department van for family members to pay their last respects before being taken to Masjid As-Saadah nearby for final prayers and burial after Zohor prayers. Nurul was sobbing throughout the ceremony.
Family members at the funeral were too distraught to speak to reporters, and close friends urged the media to leave them alone.
On Nov 27, Muhammad Adib and other rescuers from the Subang Jaya Emergency Response System unit were deployed to the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Subang Jaya to put out a vehicle fire following a riot over the temple’s proposed relocation.
He was allegedly beaten by several people during the fracas.
Muhammad Adib, who suffered from fractured ribs and internal injuries, was rushed to Subang Jaya Medical Centre for treatment.
He was subsequently transferred to the National Heart Institute (IJN) to receive further treatment and placed on life support.
On Sunday, IJN announced that Muhammad Adib was in critical condition after suffering progressive deterioration of his lung and kidney function over. He succumbed to his injuries at 9.41am on Monday, leaving behind an older brother and two younger sisters.
Police have since reclassified the case from Section 307 of the Penal Code for causing injury to Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.
Muhammad Adib’s cousin Amirul Ameer Azmi, 23, said wedding invi- tations had been printed but were yet to be distributed.
“The cards were supposed to be given out last month, but what happened to Adib made us put it on hold, and family members shifted their focus on Adib’s recovery.
“The wedding preparations were already 80% complete,” he said.
Muhammad Adib had also bought a new Perodua Myvi two months ago for the wedding.
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