Adib’s mum: I miss him terribly

ALOR SETAR: A mother’s grief in losing her son is incomprehensible and so it is for Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim’s mother, Asma Aziz. She misses the fireman deeply.

Asma, 51, bursts into tears and appears to be lost in thoughts whenever she remembers her 24-year-old son who passed away on Monday.

“I cannot sleep. I miss him terribly,” she said at the family home in Kampung Tebengau, Kuala Kedah, near here yesterday.

“I haven’t touched any food yet. Only drank water a bit. No appetite,” she said.

“I can’t bring myself to watch his story on Facebook. There are others who wanted to show me postings about him but I just can’t bring myself to look at them.”

Asma said she did not expect Muhammad Adib, who was the second of four siblings, to leave their family so soon.

“He was his normal self,” she said of the day when the tragedy took place. “Nothing he did then was odd or different. “We had chats, mainly over his wedding preparations, as the cow (to be slaughtered for the feast) was already here.”

Asma added that on the night of the incident, it was only Muhammad Adib’s second day back on duty after spending a week’s holiday in the village.

“When he returned home for that holiday, Muhammad Adib brought along his new Perodua Myvi to leave it behind for his father to use – even though his father had his own car,” she recalled.

Asma said she really wanted to see the faces of the individuals who allegedly assaulted Muhammad Adib. “What was done to my son is unforgivable. “I want those involved to be brought to court and punished,” she said.

Asma said Muhammad Adib was devoted to her and her husband Mohd Kassim Abd Hamid, describing him as “a good son and always seeking his parents’ views and advice on everything”.

She said Muhammad Adib also often took leave, especially during the padi planting season, to help his father.

As for his wedding ceremony, which was supposed to have taken place this Sunday, Asma said it would most likely be replaced by a tahlil ceremony.

On Nov 27, Muhammad Adib and his colleagues 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.

The blaze was set following a riot over the temple’s proposed relocation.

During the commotion, Muhammad Adib was allegedly beaten by several people.

He suffered fractured ribs and internal injuries and was rushed to Subang Jaya Medical Centre for treatment and was subsequently transferred to the National Heart Institute to receive further treatment.

He was placed on life support.

On Sunday, IJN announced that Muhammad Adib was in critical condition after suffering progressive deterioration of his lung and kidney functions. He succumbed to his injuries at 9.41am on Monday.

Police have since reclassified the case to Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder. — Bernama