MH370: No matter in what form he comes back, I will hug him

"He is a kind person, always jovial and serious worker. I just hope to see him again," said Shahril Izham B idris, the best friend of Sofuan Ibrahim who is one of the passenger in the missing MH370 aircraft. Shahril said he finds it difficult to accept that his friend is one of the passengers whose fate together with 238 others are still unknown after the aircraft went missing from the radar on Saturday. "His mother always spoke of getting him married. But he was always busy travelling and working, I don't think he was even seeing anyone," Shahril told Astro AWANI in telephone interview.

Sofuan, 33, is an officer attached to the International Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI) "He may be tough-looking but he is actually a very friendly and soft hearted person,” he added. Shahril said Sofuan was not a fussy person and would even let his friends order food for him whenever they go out for dinner. “He would leave it to us to order the meal and just eats with no fuss. And sometimes, if I don't eat, he will also not eat," he recalled in a shaky voice. Shahril said when he first heard the news of the missing aircraft, he was not aware that Sofuan was in the plane as he had left to Beijing in a hurry and only came to know about it later. He said Sofuan was suppose to leave the country on Feb 7 but was postponed due to some clearance reasons.

“Some of us offered to take care of his house and car and we also wanted to drop him at the airport but he told us his family will take care of it. We also planned on visiting him in Beijing,” he added. Both Shahril and Sofuan instantly became friends when they met during a training session back in 2009. “He is serious when it comes to work and because of his longer experience as a civil servant, his friends and colleagues often look up to him,” Shahril added. He said Sofuan is good when it comes to finance and management, adding that he is also a confident speaker during public speaking and presentation sessions as both his Malay and English language skills were good too. Shahril said, Sofuan also has good leadership qualities as he was the project manager during their trainings. Sofuan, who is the only son among five siblings, is also active in sports and has taken parts in marathons, swimming and kayaking. "I had gone to the Evelyn Hotel, in Putrajaya to meet Sofuan’s family but failed. I just wish he is safe and will come back soon to his family," he said. He said he just wishes Sofuan is still safe somewhere and will come back to his family. “No matter in what form he comes back, I will just hug him. But I still hope for a miracle to take place,” he added.

Sofuan (standing,7th from left), with rest of his officemates.