Mohd Diya smiled a lot, spent more time with children, says daughter

MELAKA, Oct 22  -- The changes in behaviour, and how differently he treated his children, just days before the late firefighter Mohd Diya Che Jusoh, 46, who died due to drowning while on a flood rescue mission, is something which his daughter, Nurul Ain Balqis, says she will never forget.

She said that her late father smiled a lot and spent more time with her and her three other siblings Muhammad Daniel Hakime, 18, Muhammad Danish Hakim, 12, and Nurul Annisa Ilya, nine, and her mother, Noraida Che Noh, 39.

“My dad was very committed to his work and was always busy. Normally, after work, he would take a nap or rest because he worked odd hours.

“But lately, my father would spend more time with us and he was always smiling,” she said when met at the family residence in Taman Krubong Jaya here today.

Earlier, the wife of the Melaka Chief Minister, Datin Seri Munira M Yusop, who is also the chairperson of the state Wives of Elected Representatives’ Charity and Welfare Organisation (BISTARI), visited the family and handed over a donation.

According to Nurul Ain Balqis, 16, her late father would always remind her and her siblings to study hard and that she should focus on her studies because she will be sitting for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, (SPM) examinations next year.

Recalling the incident, Nurul Ain Balqis said that she first knew about the incident after watching a video clip that went viral on social media sent to her by a friend at about 6 pm.

“I showed the video clip to my mother and we were hoping that nothing serious had befallen my father; that it was just a minor incident. We immediately rushed to the Melaka Hospital after receiving a call from the Fire and Rescue Department that my dad had been sent to the hospital."

For Noraida, her husband’s untimely death had impacted her and her children, as they relied on the firefighter since she was a full-time housewife.

The late Mohd Diya lost consciousness during a flood rescue operation at Kampung Sungai Putat, Ayer Keroh, at about 5.30 pm on Wednesday and breathed his last at 3.11 am yesterday at the Emergency and Trauma Department of the Melaka Hospital. 

-- BERNAMA