JERTEH: A father’s joy over his daughter’s acceptance turned into heartbreak after she was killed in a bus crash that claimed 15 lives early this morning.
Nur Ainul Qistina Mat Ali, 21, had been preparing to begin her studies at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) when the chartered bus she was travelling in overturned following a collision along the East-West Highway (JRTB), near Tasik Banding in Gerik, Perak.
“Our father was so happy when she got the offer that he slaughtered a goat in celebration,” said her sister, Nur Ainul Afiqah, 22.
Afiqah told Bernama that although Qistina had struggled academically in her early years, the fourth of seven siblings went on to excel in her Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) examinations, earning a place at the teacher-training university in late 2023.
Her acceptance fulfilled a childhood dream of becoming a teacher.
Speaking from the family’s home in Kampung Anak Ikan, Afiqah recalled how their father, Mat Ali Mat Amin, 56, had vowed to mark the occasion by sacrificing a goat if Qistina made it to university.
“She jumped for joy when she got the offer and reminded our father of his promise. We shared the meat with our neighbours,” Afiqah said.
Just a day before the crash, Qistina had asked to visit Pantai Benting Lintang with Afiqah and their 13-year-old sister, Nur Ainul Afni Aqilah.
“She said she wanted to eat by the beach before going back to UPSI. The wind picked up and I worried a storm was coming, so I told her we needed to leave. She wasn’t ready to leave at first, but in the end she listened,” Afiqah said.
Afiqah said her father learned about the accident from a friend at around 4 am, before the family rushed to Perak.
In a separate account, a disabled couple from Hulu Besut expressed their relief that their son, Tuan Muhammad Adham Tuan Adnan, 21, survived the crash, though he sustained multiple fractures.
His father, Tuan Adnan Nik Him, 60, is paralysed from the waist down and his mother, Zunidah Ibrahim, 51, has a speech impairment and kidney disease. Neither could travel to Perak to be with their son.
“I could only wait for updates from my brother, who rushed there as soon as he heard. I didn’t know whether my son was alive until 9 am,” said Tuan Adnan, who works as a part-time traditional masseur.
Another grieving parent, Yusmaimi Yusof, 51, said her family took one last photo with her son, Fakrul Arif Rosdi, before he boarded the bus last night.
“Last night was the final time I saw him. We all took a family photo before he got on the bus,” she told Bernama.
The 21-year-old, the fourth of five siblings, did not show any signs of distress other than complaining of a mild fever, she added.
“After we took the photo, I told him to get on the bus early and rest. We left soon after that, before the bus departed,” she said.
Yusmaimi said Fakrul Arif had been seated at the rear-left side of the bus, the part that took the brunt of the impact when the vehicle overturned.
She received news of the crash around 4.15 am and was only informed of her son’s death at 6 am, before rushing to Gerik with her husband.
The crash occurred between 12.30 am and 1 am this morning, when a chartered bus carrying students from Jertih to UPSI in Tanjung Malim collided with a multi-purpose vehicle and overturned.
Fifteen students were killed and 33 others were injured, including passengers in both vehicles.
