TAPAH:"His death is very devastating to me but I am proud that my husband died while on duty for national security and peace. He was a hero," said the wife of late Corporal Baharuddin Ramli who was shot at by criminals at the Malaysia-Thailand border, early this morning.

Relow Ko, 48, said she was informed about the fatal shooting at about 4.30 am by a female friend who came to her house at the 3rd Battalion, General Operations Force (GOF) housing complex, in Bidor, near here.

"When the friend came, she was quiet when I asked her why. She showed a WhatsApp message to me and told me what had happened to my husband. At that moment, I was at a loss as I was awakened so early in the morning for the shocking news," she told Bernama, here, today.

In the 3.10 am incident, Baharuddin was fatally shot while another GOF personnel, Corporal Norihan a/l Tari, 39, was seriously injured. He subsequently received treatment at Tuanku Fauziah Hospital, Kangar.

Baharuddin, from Bahau, Negeri Sembilan, leaves behind a wife and three children aged between 18 and 32 years.

According to Relow, her late husband who was with the 3rd Battalion (Senoi Praaq) of the Northern Brigade GOF, had been deployed to tighten border control under 'Op Benteng' since Nov 1 and scheduled to end later this month.

She said her husband, from the Semelai tribe, began serving with the police force at the age of 19 and planned to retire in another four years and return to Bahau to be with his family.

Describing his personality traits, Relow said her late husband loved to do farming and was firm with his children and family, and she did not see any significant changes in him before he left for duty this time.

In fact, she said, she was the one having uneasy feelings and faced difficulties to sleep at night.

Meanwhile, Baharuddin's eldest son, Shahrul Epanddy, 32, described his late father's passing as that of a national hero.

"I presume that he did not die in vain. He is my hero. He was killed while defending the country. My cousin who was also in the same operation informed me that my father died calmly with a smile on his face," he said.

Sharing his memories with his father, Shahrul Epanddy said the last time they met was in August in Bahau, but there were no strange signs as if they would never meet again.

Baharuddin will be buried in his hometown tomorrow.

Meanwhile, in PADANG BESAR, Corporal Alang Ngah, a close colleague of the deceased, said he was sleepless the whole night and feeling uneasy as though something was not right.

However, he said, when Baharuddin went out for patrolling earlier at about 9 pm, he did not show any change and as usual, he was enthusiastic to be on duty.

"I called him Baha and he was a friendly and patient person. I was very close with the deceased and even considered him as my own younger brother, " he added.

-- BERNAMA