FATHER ACCEPTS LOSS OF SON, 'BACKBONE' OF FAMILY

SEGAMAT, April 23 (Bernama) -- The father of the Royal Malaysian Navy’s (RMN) 502 Squadron Commanding Officer, Commander Mohamad Amir Mohamad, 44, considers the passing of his son as a significant loss, describing him as the backbone of the family.

Mohamad Borak, 71, however, said his family accepted the passing of his second son, who had helped his siblings a lot.

"He always helped the family financially, supported the education of his younger siblings, and whenever I needed money, he would be the one to help ease our burden.

bootstrap slideshow

"Of course, he was also firm with his younger siblings, as an elder brother should be," he said when approached by reporters at his residence in Felcra Bukit Kepong, Labis, near here, today.

He said the last time they met was on the first day of Syawal (Hari Raya), and that he was proud of his son who chose to join the armed forces.

Meanwhile, the victim's younger sister, Marhamah Mohamad, 36, said she did not expect the training her brother attended to be his last.

Marhamah, who is a staff engineer and also a member of the RMN’s Voluntary Reserve Team in Johor Bahru, described Mohamad Amir as a firm, caring, responsible person who helped cover his younger siblings' schooling expenses.

Muhamad Amir was the pilot of the Fennec aircraft involved in the crash with the Maritime Operations Helicopter (HOM-AW139) during a fly-past drill in conjunction with RMN’s 90th anniversary earlier today.

He is expected to be buried at Felcra Bukit Kepong Islamic Cemetery, tomorrow

-- BERNAMA