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.
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”.
