Poignant moment: Noryani showing a photo taken with Muhammad Faisol the last time they met during the Hari Raya celebration.
ALOR SETAR: Warrant Officer II Muhammad Faisol Tamadun had such a hearty appetite that he “polished off” the food on his plate during the family gathering on the second day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri here.
His eldest sister Noryani Tamadun, 50, said her brother had told her that he had been craving white rice with fried eggs and salted fish.
“He was really digging into his meal, enjoying every bite.
“He told me if he did not finish the home-cooked food, he was afraid that he would not get to enjoy it again.
“When we posed for a picture together, he said he might be ‘gone forever’ after Hari Raya.
“The way he talked that day was strange,” she said when met at her house in Kampung Tanjung in Sik here yesterday.
Gone too soon: Noor Rahiza (left) with her family members during a Hari Raya Aidilfitri gathering. — Bernama
She said that gathering was the last time the whole family had sat together for Hari Raya before Muhammad Faisol, 36, returned to his base in Kota Kinabalu.
Muhammad Faisol was among the 10 navy personnel who were killed in a mid-air collision between two helicopters at the naval base in Lumut yesterday.
Noryani, who sells nasi lemak, said she accepted her youngest brother’s death as fate, after their parents died last year.
She said Muhammad Faisol, fondly known as Adik in the family, was planning to retire in two years.
“He was expected to return to duty in Lumut by the end of this year and to retire within two years.
Fatal crash: Firefighters and airforce personnel at the crash site in Lumut. — Bernama
“He wanted to stay in our ancestral home in Kampung Tanah Hitam, which was given to him by our late father.
“He said he wanted to turn it into a homestay,” she said, adding that her brother was excited to serve in Lumut as he could be closer to his wife, who teaches at a school in Seri Iskandar.
Noryani said her brother’s remains would be buried at the Islamic cemetery in Sik Dalam here.
Muhammad Faisol leaves behind a wife and two daughters, aged 10 and six years old.
Another crew member in the ill-fated crash was Noor Rahiza Anuar, 38, who was from Yan.
