PETALING JAYA: “I love you too,” were the last words the late Rozaid Abdul Rahman had uttered to his youngest son, before his passing.
While the journalism fraternity mourns the loss of a towering figure, the former mStar editor and Star Media Group consulting editor’s bereaved family too are mourning their great loss.
Rozaid, 59, passed away on Sunday (Aug 18) evening after experiencing heart complications at his home in Putra Heights, Subang Jaya.
He was admitted for treatment at Hospital Sultan Idris Shah, Serdang, on July 1 and was discharged on Aug 6.
Rozaid’s youngest son Muhamad Roz Faiiz, 17, who was very close to him told mStar that he last met his father in Penang on Thursday (Aug 15), before Rozaid returned to Kuala Lumpur for a medical check-up.
According to Faiz, his father was admitted to the Sultan Idris Shah Hospital in Serdang for 35 days after suffering a heart attack.
“After being discharged from the hospital, daddy went back to Penang and rested at home. While he was at home, he was immersed in deep thought and was constantly staring at the ceiling.
“Mummy and I always reminded him not to think too much. Everything will go well.
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“When he was leaving for Kuala Lumpur, I told him, 'Daddy, I Love you, be strong. Everything will be fine'. Daddy replied 'I Love you too, take care of yourself and your mummy'...these were daddy’s last words,” Faiz told mStar.
Faiz, who is the youngest of nine siblings, described his father as a loving and responsible father.
“For me, daddy is my hero. I always saw daddy as a responsible father. He would always fulfil his children’s wishes. Although he was almost 60 years old, he was still working hard for his children. Daddy is my role model,” he said while adding that Rozaid’s birthday fell on Oct 1.
According to his other son, Roz Ariffin, his father passed away at 7pm on Sunday (Aug 18).
Rozaid was the media and strategic communications director at the Prime Minister's Office.
He was also previously group editor of Sinar Harian.
He started his career as a cadet reporter for Utusan Malaysia in April 1984.
Rozaid also served as press secretary to Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin when the latter was Higher Education Minister.
He returned to the journalism industry in 2009 and was also instrumental in the development of the Star Media Group’s Bahasa Malaysia’s portal mStar Online.
Throughout his journalism career, Rozaid had interviewed several high-profile figures including the Thai Prime Minister and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong,
He had also covered the United Nations Conference in New York, the G-20 forum in Senegal and the signing of the Peace Accord between the Malaysian Government and the Communist Party of Malaya on Nov 30,1989.
