Sarawakian who died in Seoul will be buried in Kuching, thanks to kind-hearted Malaysians

Left photo shows Abdul Hafiz (blue shirt) and his father, Abdullah Mat (black shirt), during a livestream press conference with Nancy. The late Nurhaslinda Abdullah is depicted in the right photo. (Photo credit: Abdul Hafiz)

KUCHING, Dec 28: The body of Sarawakian Nurhaslinda Abdullah, who died on December 25 in Seoul, South Korea, will be brought back to Malaysia on January 4.

The decision to bring back the deceased’s body to be buried in Kuching, Sarawak, was agreed upon by all of the deceased’s family members today following discussions with the Santubong Parliamentary Office, Wisma Putra, and the Malaysian Embassy in South Korea.

Women, Family, and Community Development Minister, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, who is also Santubong MP, expressed her condolences to the family of the late Nur Haslinda and thanked her parliamentary office for their efforts in ensuring that the funeral proceedings were carried out smoothly.

Despite facing numerous constraints, including high costs, family members of the deceased and members of the public have made donations amounting to RM50,000 for the purpose of managing the remains, said Nancy.

“At first, the family agreed for the late Nurhaslinda to be buried in Korea because it would cost a lot to bring the body back.

“However, this morning, the family agreed to bring the body back to Malaysia, and I am grateful to Malaysians who also contributed in this matter,” she told a press conference today.

Meanwhile, Nancy has made an advance contribution of RM31,082.25 to Wisma Putra on behalf of the deceased’s family in order to expedite the process of settling hospital bills, funeral arrangements, and burial for the late Nur Haslinda.

At the press conference, the deceased’s brother, Abdul Hafiz Abdullah, 35, expressed gratitude and thanks to everyone who assisted in the management and the return of his sister’s remains from Korea to Malaysia.

According to him, Nurhaslinda, 30, from Kampung Sejingkat here, had travelled to South Korea in September to work at a factory there.

He said his sister had a heart condition and had undergone a heart surgery 10 years ago to repair a hole in her heart, in addition to having asthma.

On December 25, before Nurhaslinda died, Abdul Hafiz said his sister called him to inform him that she was sick and asked him to get a ticket for her to return to Malaysia.

In the afternoon, a friend of his sister sent a message informing him that she was in critical condition and was receiving treatment in the hospital.

Later, however, he received a call from the Malaysian Embassy in South Korea informing him that his sister had died.

Abdul Hafiz said when he was informed of the sad news, he was overcome with sorrow and sadness, and was stricken by the concern of the high costs needed to bring his sister’s remains back home.

“Alhamdulillah, thank you to all Malaysians who help lighten our family’s burden.

“Thank you also to YB (Nancy) and also to Wisma Putra who helped our family,” Abdul Hafiz said, adding that his late sister’s body is expected to arrive in Kuching on January 4. — DayakDaily