KUALA LUMPUR: While onlookers could only scream helplessly on the beach, Lieutenant Commander Mohd Firdaus Arbaain acted decisively, diving into the sea and swimming swiftly towards an overturned tourist boat to save lives, including two young children crying in fear.
The incident, which occurred at Teluk Batik beach, Perak, in August 2023, was recalled with full reverence today as the Executive Officer of KD Sri Indera Sakti was the sole recipient of the Bintang Jasa Perkasa Persekutuan (JPP) at the Federal Awards, Medals and Honours Investiture Ceremony in conjunction with the Official Birthday of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, at Istana Negara here today.
For Mohd Firdaus, 42, the award was not solely his, but a recognition of every hero and heroine of the nation who continued to serve the country and its people.
“This is also a recognition for the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) in particular, and the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) in general.
“I also dedicate this award to my family... when the incident happened, my wife and children were also at the scene,” he told Bernama after the ceremony.
Recalling the incident, Mohd Firdaus, who was then spending leisure time with his family, said he never expected that day would become a life-changing moment for many, including himself.
While preparing to have a meal, he said his wife saw a boat carrying 15 people almost capsizing, and in less than a minute, it overturned.
He added that the screams of the passengers and the cries of children after the boat overturned spurred him into action, drawing on his ten years of experience as a member of the RMN’s Naval Special Warfare Force (PASKAL).
“I mustered the courage to swim from the shore to the boat’s location and handed over all the life jackets to the victims. I also helped to put life jackets on the two children of (Mohammad) Hafiz (Johari),” he said.
In the incident, Mohammad Hafiz’s wife, Nurul Afiqah Abdullah Sani, was found trapped under the overturned boat and died while receiving treatment at Manjung Hospital. His sibling and two children, along with 10 other individuals, survived.
Mohd Firdaus said that although nearly two years had passed, the incident had left a profound impact on him.
He said he got to meet up with the family last year when he was invited to be a guest on a podcast programme held in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, in conjunction with the Malaysian Armed Forces Day celebration.
“Only after the programme did he (Mohammad Hafiz) find out who had saved him and his family... I immediately went to meet him and his children in Parit Buntar. I also recently met them again in Langkawi during the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA)... I brought them on a tour of the ship and the rest of the exhibition.
“I continue to maintain our bond because I still remember the condition of his children at that time... screaming, crying, begging for help... I saw them as if they were my own,” he said.
