Norulaini dies with unfulfilled wish to send mother for religious class

"When my daughter called me on Friday, she said she wanted to take me back to Kuala Kangsar. She said she wanted to send me to pondok school so that I can spend the remaining days of my life meaningfully studying religion...but she never made it home."

Those are the words of the mother of Norulaini Ab Ghani who perished along with her husband and their two daughters, in an accident at Km 13, Jalan Sungai Koyan-Cameron Highlands yesterday.

Relating the conversation, Ruhani Mohammad, 63, said the last time she saw Norulaini was in December last year.

"It's school holiday now and she said she had planned to spend it here with me. I called her again on Saturday morning and my eldest grandchild told me that they were leaving at noon," Ruhani told reporters, while holding back tears, when met at her home in Felda Jengka 6 here, today.

In the 2.15 pm accident on Saturday, Norulaini, 43, her husband Raja Mohd Adnan Raja Hussain, 45, and their two daughters Raja Nur A'iysah, 14, and Raja Nur Anis Batrisya, 8, died after the Perodua Alza they were travelling in met with an accident with a van carrying sundry goods.

The couple's second daughter, Raja Nur Alyaa Masturina, 13, sustained broken legs, while the van driver Wendi Hasby, 26, was also injured.

Raja Mohd Adnan was a Bahasa Melayu teacher at Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina Sauk, Kuala Kangsar, Perak.

Ruhani said being the eldest of five siblings, Norulaini was a responsible and diligent daughter who had helped to bring up the family, especially after her father died 10 years ago.

"She was also a teacher but she chose to stop working after giving birth to her youngest child and started a small home bakery business," Ruhani said.

The remains of Norulaini, Raja Mohd Adnan, Raja Nur A'isyah and Raja Nur Anis Batrisya were laid to rest in a single grave at Felda Jengka 6 Muslim cemetery here on Sunday.

The funeral prayer was held at the Al-Wifaq Mosque after the bodies arrived at 5.15 pm.

More than 100 well-wishers, including family members and friends attended the funeral.