I know my daughter in Pyongyang is scared — Mum

SITIAWAN: It was her motherly intuition that led Maznah Adnan, the mother of one of the Malaysians in Pyongyang, to believe that her daughter was in fear although the latter had informed her that everything was okay.

Maznah, 63, the mother of Iza Karmila Mary Ramli, 33, the wife of Mohd Nor Azrin Md Zain, the Counsellor at the Malaysian Embassy in Pyongyang, are still in North Korea with their three children after they were not allowed to leave the country since March 7.

Iza Karmila and Mohd Nor Azrin, who is from Perlis, are in Pyongyang with their children Annur Zulaikha, Aynur Zhafirah and Ayscha Zinnirah.

Maznah, a full-time housewife, said she last spoke to her daughter on Tuesday afternoon via the phone for a few minutes.

“She told me to be patient and not to worry because there was nothing serious happening, but as a mother I know she is in fear, it’s just that she does not want me to worry,” she told Bernama at her residence here yesterday.

Since her daughter and family are temporarily being barred from leaving North Korea, she, as a mother, was feeling worried and anxious all the time and having trouble sleeping.

“We know the situation in that country and I’m worried thinking about it,” said Maznah, adding that she also faced difficulty to contact her daughter due to limited communications ability with the Stalinist state.

Iza Karmila, an Administrative and Diplomatic Officer, took leave to join her husband in Pyongyang two years ago and the last time the family returned to Malaysia was during Aidilfitri last year.

Maznah said throughout her stay in North Korea, Iza Karmila never complained of any problems except difficulty in obtaining halal food supplies.

“Only after the temporary ban was imposed that their movements became limited because the family is afraid to leave the embassy including sending the children to school,” she said.

As a mother, she said the she would continue to pray that the crisis could be resolved as soon as possible and all Malaysians there could safely return home.

“In fact, today the family members here held special prayers for my daughter’s family safety there,” she said.

There are 11 Malaysians, including three embassy officials, currently in North Korea. They havebeen temporarily barred from leaving North Korea as the country’s response to Malaysia’s action to declare North Korean Ambassador to Malaysia, Kang Chol as Persona Non Grata and expelled him after he failed to turn up at Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra) at 6pm on Feb 4 for a meeting.

However, two Malaysians who were there under the United Nations (UN) World Food Programme were allowed to leave Pyongyang and have safely arrived in Beijing.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak today said all Malaysians, including embassy staff and family members in Pyongyang are safe and free to lead normal life as usual.