In cyberspace, a daughter remembers ‘mother, hero’

The daughter remembers her mother who was stabbed to death while jogging near Bukit Gasing a few days ago. This appears in Malaysian Insider today.

The original news click here.

Malaysia

In cyberspace, a daughter remembers ‘mother, hero’

April 22, 2013

People trek on a hiking trail at Bukit Gasing, in Petaling Jaya February 22, 2011.—File pic  KUALA LUMPUR, April 22 — On Saturday, Ong Ai Sam, 52, fended off two robbers in a desperate bid to buy her daughter time to escape. She succeeded, but paid for it with her life. 

This is the message her daughter wishes she could hear.
My mother, my hero

I remember. I remember everything.

A few months ago in English class, my teacher asked us to write about the person who we admire. I wrote about my mum. A month ago for my English March Test paper, the topic I wrote about was “My Hero”. I wrote about my mum. During my test, I had writer’s block so I simply wrote out everything i knew about my mum: her childhood, achievements, etc. My mum is my hero. She always has been, she always will be.

20th April 2013.

Mama left early in the morning for some event her Kiwanis Club’s K-Kids had planned. She came back home with lunch for me and Milo ais. I remember grumbling to her because I didn’t want to follow my parents jungle trekking. I did anyway. We had to set up a trail for my father’s running group so mama was carrying a bag with just plain paper in it. I remember grumbling to my mum as we went up and down the hills of Gasing. She told me we’d be out soon. After two hours of trekking in the jungle, we finally hit the road. It was the road in Gasing leading up to the temple. We decided to walk back down to the car.

As we walked down the steep road, there was nobody there. No people, no cars. Just the two of us. As we nearly reached the first house, we heard a motorbike sound from behind. We turned around and saw two men on a motorbike. Mama said walk further in onto the pavement so we did. As the motorbike drove past us, they stopped. The man from behind jumped off. My mum pushed me to the back and told me to go. The man attacked my mum straight away, without saying any words. The knife he used was just a normal kitchen knife, the blade was about 10cm long. As my mum tried to protect herself, she turned to her left, only to be stabbed twice on the back of her right shoulder. She was struggling to escape. The attacker then proceeded to stab the back of her left shoulder. Mama tried so hard to escape. She fell on the ground and the attacker pulled her on the road and stabbed her thigh. I tried to help but the attacker thrust the knife my way so I ran back further. I couldn’t do anything but scream at the top of my lungs. I screamed and screamed. The attacker hopped on the bike and rode off.

I remember.

I remember watching my mum’s body lying on the road, all the blood oozing out. The attacker did not manage to get any of my mum’s belongings. She told me to call my dad. I ran down the hill looking for help. The first house I went to, the maid (who saw everything that happened) ran in and did not even try to help me. I ran further down and saw a car. They saw me and stopped. And I told them what happened. The driver, Mr Lai, told me to get in and we drive up to my mum. Mr Lai called the ambulance and the police while I tried to keep my mum conscious. There was blood everywhere. My mum just kept saying “save me”. Her voice was so week. My dad reached the site 10 minutes later, after running all the way. Mama kept telling us that she couldn’t breathe. I prayed and prayed. She was slowly losing herself. We tried our best to keep her awake and conscious. The police arrived. We put her in the police car since the ambulance hadn’t arrived. As we reached down the road, the ambulance was there so they transferred mum into the ambulance.

I remember.

I remember sitting in the ambulance, holding my mum’s hand and trying to talk to her but she didn’t respond. I remember crying. The paramedics were doing all they could do at that point. I remember calling Eu Lim, who was at church to pray for my mum. We reached the hospital in three minutes. They rushed my mum to the emergency was. I wasn’t allowed to enter and I was so, so scared. My dad had followed Mr Lai’s car and they hadn’t reached yet. I had to settle my mum’s registration and then I had to talk to the police. My dad arrived. Then my friends arrived. I sat at the doorway of the hospital, praying and praying. 10 minutes later, my dad came out and told me my mum didn’t make it. I dropped in the middle of the hospital floor, screaming. Everyone was looking at me, but I didn’t care. A bunch of doctors came out to get me; they took me to a special room. They questioned me and they told me about how my mum was already gone when we were in the ambulance. They tried their best to revive her.

I remember.

I remember coming home. My friends just sat in silence. I just sat in silence. I was covered in blood, mama’s blood. I had to get myself together. I had to bathe. We broke the news to my sister through Face Time and that was really hard to do. Slowly, people started coming. It was hard seeing my aunts and uncles cry, my parent’s close friends, my close friends and to know I had to keep it all together. It was really hard, telling my story to everyone. It’s really hard to even close my eyes for awhile because i see it replaying in my head over and over again. Watching my mum lying in her pool of blood and not being able to do anything. Not being able to save her.

People come, then people leave. All I hear is “I’m so sorry for your loss” or “my condolences”. All I hear is people questioning me about what happened, since I was the sole witness. But I am so tired of telling this story over and over again. I am so tired of hearing other people tell this story. This is my story. This is the truth. Newspapers and reporters may twist it around and exaggerate to the whole world, but this story will remain the truth forever.

I am truly grateful and appreciative to everyone who came, whether it was for a short period, or a long time. Thank you to those who’ve brought a little bit more of hope and joy to me, even though you guys didn’t try. Thank you to those who’ve brought food and drinks, and flowers. Thank you to everyone who called, texted, Whatsapped, Facebook-ed and tweeted me. I don’t know how i became a trending topic overnight (#prayforhuiwei). I was mad at first, but then I realised how much my family had all of your love and support. Whether i know you or not, whether you knew my mum or not, all your kind words really helped. My mother was such an amazing and beautiful person.

I remember.

My mum’s last words to me were “I love you so much” dying there, on the road. I watched it all. I watched it all slip out of my hands. Now my life feels so empty. I keep thinking to myself that this is all a dream. Maybe I’d wake up and be able to avoid this from happening. Maybe if someone pinched me I’d wake up from this nightmare. But this is reality, and I have to face the facts. I have to face the fact that I’m alone now. I have to face the sounds of crying and wailing from the other room. I have to face the facts that I’m going to grow up motherless, clueless and confused. It won’t be easy, but I will get through this.

Ma,

I love you so much. And I am so sorry I had to watch you die. I am so sorry I couldn’t save you. But you’re with God now. Ma you’re such a great person. Beautiful inside and out. And I thank you for teaching me your ways. Thank you for always teaching (scolding) me to be a better person. Even though we’ve had our moments, and times we didn’t see eye to eye, you’ll always be my best friend. Who’s going to pick me up from school now? Who am I going to say “HEY MA” to and tell them about my day? Who’s going to cuddle up with me on the couch and be lazy for awhile?

Ma,

Remember how you used to come into my room while I was studying, and hug me then tickle me. Remember how you used to sing me to sleep when I was young. Or how you used sing when you’re happy. You had a beautiful voice. Remember how we sat on the couch, looking for coloured beads to do arts and crafts. Remember every single day we spent together.

Ma,

I just saw your body, lying in the coffin. You look so beautiful, peaceful, just like you’re sleeping. And I have the biggest urge to scream “wake up”. Thank you, Ma. For giving me life, for giving me love. You taught me everything good in my life. You were always selfless, God-fearing. You were my strong pillar of hope and love. And even though you’re no longer here with us, you’re with God. And you’re happy, just like how you appeared in Lissa’s dream. And I do hope justice will be served. They’re working on finding the criminals, ma. They will be caught.

We all miss you, ma, we miss you so much. Goh Ee and Sar Ee has already appointed themselves as my “mama” and I see you so much of you in them. And it’s not going to be the same anymore. Nothing will be the same anymore. You’re not going to watch me graduate, you’re not going to watch me get married. You’re not going to be there to take care of my children. But I know you are with us in spirit, and you’re always watching over us. Please give me the strength and courage to move forward with my life. Please give me the motivation to be better. To be more like you. To spread the love and joy. Papa, Tache and I will always be grateful for you are the biggest blessing God has given. And maybe you’ve done too much good so The Lord called you home. And you are safe now, safe with God. He will watch over you (and us) and protect you. You are safe from all the evil now.
I will make you proud, mama. I will make everyone proud. I love you so much. I’ll love you every single day of my life, and I’ll never forget whatever you’ve done for me. Thank you so much. Rest in peace, mama, I love you.

* This is a post written by Hui Wei on the blog, “the ugly truth”.

A community that works together stays together

The increasing crime rate in BK3 has driven the residents to take matters into their own hands.

With that in mind, the way to go for the residents is to form a Residents Association (RA), and get support from the community to have their own hired security patrols. A few residents took the initiatives, starting to share the thoughts with the community.

As a result, the idea started to gain momentum. A few meetings later, majority of the residents from BK3/3 to BK3/6  have agreed to form an RA, with the purpose of having more controls over the hiring of security guards to patrol the area, at the same time put up some perimeter fencing, boom gates and guard posts at strategic locations, to make the area safer.

Besides that, the RA also hope to organize more community events to get the residents to know each other better in the future.

 

Residents gathered for a briefing

Soon ideas started to become reality. The first order of business is to get the perimeter fencing up, follow by setting up guard posts and boom gates. The residents chose one weekend to come out in droves, to clear the perimeter area of the housing area, and take measurements for the necessary work. It was hard work for the residents over a weekend, but the "gotong royong" effort seemed to bring the community closer, no one was complaining.

Residents "gotong royong" to clean up the area for fencing

George chopping down plants for perimeter fencing

Thumbs up by residents after a hard day of "gotong royong"

 
Sometimes it is hard to imagine how quickly things can move when everyone put their brains together and work as a team. The support from the residents have been overwhelming. Some "rukun tetangga" patrolling by residents, some fund collection; before you know it, the fencing is up, and boom gates were installed. For a safer community, most residents just accept the little inconvenience it caused.

"Rukun tetangga" gang at night

Fencing work in progress

Workers working on boom gates

There is no doubt there are still a lot of details that need to be ironed out. It is far from perfect. However, with the support of the whole community, the RA committee is determined to come up with solutions best suited for all.

It is time to make our home safe, BK3 is our home.

Get to know our police

In case you are not aware of this, all the policing work for Bandar Kinrara is under "daerah" Serdang. In fact, the brand new "Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah Serdang" is right here in BK5 (not in Serdang).

Police HQ map

Many residents in BK3 have mistaken the police station in Puchong Jaya as the one that has jurisdiction over our area. In actual fact that is not the case at all. Therefore during distress any calls to Puchong Jaya police station would only delay the police response to your rescue.

New Serdang Police HQ in BK5

So when you are in trouble, this is the correct Serdang police station "Hotline Bilik Gerakan" number that you should call that will probably give you the fastest response.

HOT LINE: 03 - 8062 0485

Bandar Kinrara (Serdang) police hot line number

In addition, there are a few numbers that all residents should keep handy in case they are not getting any response from the number above during distress:

1. Ketua polis Daerah Serdang:

    ACP Abd Razak Bin Elias: 019 - 623 0129

2. Timbalan Ketua Polis Daerah Serdang: 

    DSP Lam Chien Fei: 012 - 235 7722

3. Ketua polis Balai Bandar Kinrara:

    INSP Jasman Bin Osman 019 - 269 9700

The information above were given out by the Serdang police department during a meeting this afternoon.

Hopefully all BK3 residents now get a clearer picture as to who to call when they need help, and able to sleep better at night.

Can you sleep well tonight?

In case you missed the stories, burglars armed with "parangs" have been terrorizing BK 3 recently. They broke into houses day and night even when the owners were at home.

In one case, an owner of the house was slashed by the intruders at the forehead and required stitches to close the wound.

Below is the report from The Star. The article is here.

Tuesday March 12, 2013

Residents irked by spate of robberies

All out for safety: Nearly 200 residents from Bandar Kinrara turned up for the meeting. They were concerned about their safety following the recent crime cases.

HORROR stories came to light on Sunday as Bandar Kinrara 2 and 3 shared their experiences with criminals at a gathering in the Bandar Kinrara 2 community hall.

Resident B. Prabakaran said he had been repairing his car in his porch with his brother and mother when three men armed with swords barged in at 3.30pm last Tuesday.

The 43-year-old said the intruders attacked him and forced the three of them into the house. Prabakaran’s wife was sleeping upstairs at the time of the incident.

“I pleaded with them not to hurt my wife or my mother. I told them I would give them anything they wanted,” said Prabakaran, whose wounds required 50 stitches.

Another resident Wong Huat Beng related his close encounter which happened at about 4.30am on a Friday night.

He said he was woken up by a noise and when he realised that intruders were trying to break into the house, he gathered his family in the master bedroom and yelled for help through the window.
Luckily, his neighbours came to his rescue and the intruders fled.

However, Premaj Das, who stays nearby, was not so fortunate and he believes he was a victim of the same people who tried to break into Wong’s house.

“I heard someone trying to open my bedroom door at about 4.45am. It was locked and they started to kick the door down.

“I quickly climbed out through the window and called the police. They arrived within five minutes and the intruders ran away. Unfortunately, they had already ransacked my house,” Premaj, 23, said.
Another resident R. Speromani-am, 57, said a man who covered his face with a handkerchief had broken into his house at 6.30am. He was lucky as the man, who he said spoke good English, did not harm him.

Raj Kumar, 39, was not so fortunate as he had to be hospitalised for two days and received 35 stitches to his head and 10 stitches to his hand after his house was broken into.

The residents present at the gathering were concerned about their safety and wanted action taken to solve the problem.

Those staying in Bandar Kinrara 2 had formed a residents’ association following the incidents, while Bandar Kinrara 3 residents were planning to discuss the matter at a meeting that was held on the same night.

Puchong MP Gobind Singh said he had received 10 complaints from Bandar Kinrara 3 residents in the last week alone.

“I have spoken to Serdang OCPD Asst Comm Abdul Razak Elias to express my concerns. He said he would look into it and the first step he would take to address the issue was to set up a ‘payung’ (umbrella) in the area,” he said.

Gobind added that he would arrange for a meeting with ACP Abdul Razak at the Serdang district police headquarters this week to discuss ways to solve the problem.

“The people want increased police presence to discourage the criminals. However, we cannot just blame the police because they are short-handed too,” he said.

Meanwhile, Selangor Commu-nity Policing group coordinator Kuan Chee Heng, who was also at the gathering, said he would arrange for patrols in the area for a week, starting from yesterday.

He suggested that the residents, especially neighbours, forge closer ties and advised them against wearing jewellery in public.

He also urged the residents to contact the Serdang police headquarters directly at 03-8074 2222 during emergencies.
 

End of the road

On 8th August, the was another meeting with Tan Seri Syed Hamid Albar of SPAD, Prasarana, Dato Yap Pian Hon and BK3 protem committee in SPAD's office.

This was the final push with the suggestion of constructing a new ramp exiting from the left lane of Bukit Jalil Highway to BK4 in order for the LRT track to be realigned to the middle of Bukit Jalil Highway.

SPAD, JKR and Prasarana had visited BK3 area the week before to see if there is a possible way for that to happen.

In Prasarana's presentation, they have concluded that the new ramp is not a viable option. It will have temporary as well as permanent problems for the residents of BK3 if materialized.

In fact, the ramp will be closer to the houses than the LRT track. On top of that, time frame, temporary traffic diversion, etc. making that option not possible.
 
SPAD concurred with Prasarana's finding, leaving us no option but to stick to the original plan of having the LRT track at our green lung.

In consolation, Prasarana proposed to install sound barriers next to the track, and beautify the area with landscaping after the construction is completed.

Sound barrier and landscaping proposed by Prasarana

That was the end of discussion.

The protem committee had tried their very best over the last two years to resolve the issue of station no. 5 and realignment of LRT track.

While they managed to get station no. 5 canceled (on hold), they were not able to convince the responsible authorities to realign the LRT track.

They have tirelessly approached MPSJ, Selangor State Government, YB Gobind Singh, and Teresa Kok, Dato Yap Pian Hon, and finally SPAD chairman Tan Seri Syed Hamid Albar.

Yet the answer is still the same every time - nothing can be done about the realignment.

While still not satisfy with the non-solution, there is really nothing more the protem committee can do. They have exhausted every avenue possible trying to get the realignment done.

Therefore the committee feels it is time for it to dissolve. There is really nothing more can be done.

They would like to thank every BK3 residents who offer their support over the past two years. Without your support, station no. 5 would not have been canceled.

If there is any consolation, winning half the battle is better than nothing, life still goes on.

Have a good holiday and Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all Muslim friends.

What's next?

With the construction of Ampang LRT line continues, our fight for realignment still hangs in the balance. We have exhausted almost all avenues in our fight, but continue to reach out to the people that can possibly help us to find a solution.

On Tuesday, 4th of July, we finally get another chance.

This time with the help of Dato Yap Pian Hon, we managed to arrange a meeting between Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar, chairman of Suruhanjaya Pengakutan Awan Darat (SPAD), Dato Yap, Prasarana and BK3 protem committee members.

Meeting in SPAD's office

We again presented our case with several proposed options for the realignment of the LRT track. However, Prasarana again citing technical and cost as some of the reasons that are preventing them from further pursuing the possibility of realignment.

In addition, some of technical issues also involve possibilities of restructuring the ramp and highway alignment, which fall under the jurisdiction of JKR. All that will probably involve additional funding as well.

Unfortunately, SPAD mentioned that their hands are tied in our realignment issue. They have no say in anything that involves cost. Unless there is instruction from higher authority, there is really nothing much they can do.

They also mentioned we are probably a little late in highlighting this issue, even though we told them since as far back as in 2009, when the project was announced, we have already voiced our concerned. We then continue to highlight the issue again many times since beginning of 2011, when the project was awarded, non stop until now. Most of our correspondences are copied and hand delivered to SPAD as well.

However, SPAD did mention anything is still possible and ask Prasarana to stop cutting the trees at the green lung until this is officially settled.

One thing we must highlight is Prasarana has already obtained all the necessary approvals from all relevant authorities to construct the track at the green lung. In other words, they have the legal right to go ahead with the tree cuttings and construction of the tracks at our green lung.

As with station no. 5, it is still put on hold at this moment, and we hope it remains so forever. For the convenience of BK3 residents, there is a station no. 4 walking distance away at BK2 that can serve our community equally well.

Meanwhile, we will continue to take our fight to the next level.

Press coverage on LRT realignment issue at BK 3, Bandar Kinrara

Some of the press coverage on our action.

The Star

Read the full The Star article here.

China Press

Read the full China Press article here.

Sin Chew Daily

Read the full Sin Chew Daily article here

Nanyang

Read the full Nanyang Daily article here