Still hopeful of meeting son month after catamaran mishap
Published on: Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: It has been a month since the catamaran capsized near Mengalum on Jan 28, but Annie Tambuyong (pic) still remains hopeful of meeting her son again someday. Her son, Abhsoy Kassim, 26, is among five people, four of whom are China tourists, still missing following the boat tragedy which left four dead to date. Search and rescue operations entered its 31st day on Monday with nine assets scouring 300 nautical miles off Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei waters with still no sign of the missing five. ADVERTISEMENT "Only God knows how painful it is for any parent to lose their child in such manner, all I can do is to hope and pray for his return. "If indeed he did not make it out alive, I pray for his body to be found so that we may hold a proper burial for him," said the 44-year-old when met at the Suria Shopping Complex here, Monday. She was accompanied by her husband, Kassim Gayang, 48.The couple and their family, including Abhsoy's wife, Amelia Samanail, 21, had been waiting outside the shopping premises since they heard the news on Jan 29. ADVERTISEMENT "I was out in the sea for the past three days, searching for my son. I even threw paddy into the ocean hoping for my son to appear, but all I saw was the ocean with no trace of my son," she said, referring to a Bajau Laut belief. She explained that based on her ancestors' beliefs, throwing paddy into the ocean is part of a ritual to summon help from the ocean to recover those who have gone missing at sea.
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The five are among 28 China tourists and three crew members who left the Tanjung Aru jetty for Pulau Mengalum about two hours' boat ride northwest of Kota Kinabalu about 9am on Jan 28.Their failure prompted a search and rescue operation with 20 of the passengers and two crew members rescued by fishermen on Jan 29. Three were found dead. A fourth was recovered off Mengalum on Feb 4. - Sherell Ann Jeffrey