POKOK SENA: It was a sombre scene at the Masjid Kampung Bukit cemetery as 8-year-old Iman Nur Hannan bid final farewell to her father, Mohamad Khairul Hakim Hamidi, a senior assistant engineer with the Public Works Department (PWD).
The girl's aunt Noriza, 45, hugged and spoke softly to Iman as she wailed uncontrollably when her father's body was placed into the grave about 11.30am.
Iman's brother, Muhammad Al Fateh, 6, was at the cemetery, but did not stay until the funeral ended.
Khairul's wife Nursharina Samsudin, 38, and the couple's eldest child, Asma Nur Imani, 11, did not attend the funeral.
Iman was too distraught to speak to the press.
"I don't know," she said briefly before breaking into tears.
The funeral was attended by some 300 family members and PWD staff, including Kedah branch director Mohd Fisal Ismail.
Before the funeral, Khairul's remains were taken to his late parents' home in Kampung Bukit upon arriving from Kampar, Perak, about 8.30am.
The body was later taken to Masjid Kampung Bukit for funeral rites. He was laid to rest at the cemetery about 700m away from the mosque.
Khairul, 37, was among three victims who drowned when a rafting boat carrying six PWD employees and one guide overturned in Sungai Jahang, Kampar, yesterday.
The other victims were Langkawi PWD officer Muhammad Ikram Abdul Bari, 29, and Seberang Perai Tengah PWD officer Suhaili Mat Saad, 47. (https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/11/1135026/sungai-jahang-rafting...).
ENDS
KW: Public Works Department, PWD, JKR, death, accident, drown, funeral, rafting, Kedah, Mohamad Khairul Hakim Hamidi, news, NST, Malaysia, Malaysia news