KEPALA BATAS: The remains of Mustaqeem Mansor, the hiker who was found dead at the summit of Gunung Liang Barat in Perak, were laid to rest at the Muslim Cemetery of Masjid Jamek Nurussaadah Lahar Tabut in Penaga here after Subuh (dawn) prayers today.
The body of Mustaqeem, 34, which underwent a post-mortem examination at Slim River Hospital last night, was brought to Masjid Jamek Nurussaadah Lahar Tabut here at about 2 am.
The remains were placed in a designated room to allow relatives, friends and members of the public to pay their last respects before the funeral prayers and burial took place.
More than 200 family members, friends and locals attended the funeral prayers and burial. A sombre atmosphere filled the ceremony, and Mustaqeem’s wife, Nur Faratin Mohd Othman, 31, was seen weeping and visibly grief-stricken throughout the burial.
Mustaqeem’s younger brother, Muzammeer Mansor, 33, expressed the family’s deepest gratitude to all parties involved from the start of the search operation until the burial this morning.
He said the family was still in shock and deeply saddened by the sudden loss of his brother.
Mustaqeem was found dead at 3.30 pm on Thursday at the summit of Gunung Liang after beginning a climb with 10 friends on Oct 10 from Fraser’s Hill.
He was last seen on Oct 14. His body was airlifted from the 1,933-metre summit using a Fire and Rescue Department Air Special Unit (PASKUB) AW189 helicopter at 2.45 pm yesterday.
A post-mortem conducted by Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh revealed that he had died from hypothermia.
Meanwhile, Mustaqqeem’s mother, Rohani Saad, 65, said that although the family accepts her eldest son’s death as fate, they still feel uneasy with the circumstances surrounding it.
She said Mustaqqeem’s friends, who were with him during the climb, told her they had searched for him for more than six hours but could not find him.
However, when the Fire and Rescue Department conducted their search, they discovered his body within just three hours at the summit of Gunung Liang.
“They said he was right there, at the peak, all along. It’s not that we are questioning Allah’s will... we accept his death as fate.
“But what we cannot accept is why he was left there, and no police report or attempts to inform the rescue team were made,” she said. - Bernama
