Mothers thankful daughter, son are coming home from North Korea

PUTRAJAYA: Maznah Adnan, the mother of one of the nine Malaysians in North Korea, was thankful that her daughter would be returning home early tomorrow morning.

"Thank god..I am thankful after receiving the news on television just now," she told Bernama here tonight adding she was now in Kuala Lumpur and would check in at one of the hotels there.

Maznah, 63, is the mother of Iza Karmila Ramli, 33 who was in North Korea with her husband Mohd Nor Azrin Md Zain and three children Annur Zulaikha, Aynur Zhafirah and Ayscha Zinnirah, who were among nine Malaysians 'trapped' at the Malaysian Embassy in Pyongyang, North Korea when they were barred from leaving the country by the North Korean government since March 7.

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In Klang, Norhayati Hamid, 61, the mother of Mohd Nor Azrin said she only came to know that her son would be coming home when she was contacted by Bernama tonight.

"I was told earlier that my son (Mohd Nor Azrin) will return home but the details were not clear and I was not sure when he would be back. Thank GOD, he will finally be back with his wife and children," she said.

In Ipoh, the prayers of an elder sister to meet her sibling would be fulfilled in a matter of hours.

S. Komala Theinmoli, 48, said there was nothing more heartwarming for her and her family than to hear that her sister who worked as an administrative officer at the Malaysian Embassy in North Korea, S. Nirmala Malar Kodi, would be arriving tomorrow morning.

According to Komala, she only found out about the good news from the media who contacted her to obtain her reaction.

"I am very thankful because I have waited too long for this happy news. Thank you very much to the government," she said when contacted by Bernama tonight.

Komala, who is a trader in a market in Kuala Kangsar, said, since the North Korean government barred Malaysians from leaving the country on March 7, she had never stopped praying for the safety of her younger sister and the rest of the Malaysians.

Earlier, at about 8.30pm, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced that all Malaysians who were barred from leaving North Korea were now allowed to go back to Malaysia.

Najib said they (nine Malaysians) left Pyongyang at 7.45pm last night Malaysian time and were expected to arrive in Kuala Lumpur at 5am tomorrow morning.

Diplomatic ties between Malaysia and North Korea was soured after the murder of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half-brother Kim Jong-nam at the klia2 on Feb 13. - BERNAMA