JOHOR BAHRU: The parents of a Universiti Malaya student who died after an apparent fall from his residential college could not attend his funeral because they were serving as mutawifs in Saudi Arabia.
Ahmad Arif Zawir Mohd Ali was buried at the Mutmainah Muslim Cemetery in Pasir Gudang at 6.20 pm today with more than one hundred family members, friends and university representatives present.
His brother Ahmad Auf said their parents Mohd Ali Hashim and Roslina A. Rahman had travelled to the Holy Land on October 7 and were originally due to return next Wednesday.
The parents learned about their son’s passing through the family WhatsApp group and received videos and photos of the burial ceremony.
Ahmad Arif was a twenty two year old final year student at the university’s Department of Fiqh Usul and Applied Sciences within the Academy of Islamic Studies.
He was last seen on October 12 after being dropped off to begin the new semester at his residential college.
His brother shared that Ahmad Arif had expressed missing their parents but never got the opportunity to see them again.
The family has found acceptance in their loss particularly because he passed away on a Friday which is considered a blessed day in Islam.
Close friends remembered Ahmad Arif as a cheerful, quiet and kind individual who always carried a positive demeanour.
Muhammad Faiz Fahmi Abdul Basir recalled that his friend appeared happy during their last meeting before his sudden passing.
Asyrafuddin Arif Amaluddin Arip described him as a well-liked friend often seen with religious items and without any known enemies.
Petaling Jaya police chief ACP Shamsudin Mamat confirmed the post-mortem results showed death resulted from severe head and chest injuries consistent with a fall.
The police investigation found no evidence of foul play in the student’s tragic death. – Bernama
