Third Raya without parents for orphaned sisters

Orphaned two years ago after their parents and youngest sister perished in a road accident Amira, in particular, tends to get emotional when reminded of her loved ones who departed from them suddenly in a cruel twist of fate.

The sisters, accompanied by their aunt and guardian Yusnidah Hussain, 49, visited the Bernama headquarters, here recently to receive Hari Raya contributions from various sponsors, including Busana Saizara, Canggih, Teratak Spa and Yusa Food Products Sdn Bhd.

The event was facilitated by Hawa Business Centre, which provides professional services to physical and online businesses, as a corporate social responsibility initiative.

Amira and Aqila also participated in the recording of a special Hari Raya show to be aired by Bernama News Channel (BNC) this morning as part of its NINE11 programme.

At the recent event at Bernama, the two girls were as happy as a lark and cheerfully answered questions posed by Bernama chairman Datuk Seri Azman Ujang, who handed over the Raya gifts to them.

Eyeing a packet of kuih semperit (a traditional cookie made from flour, butter and sugar) which were among the gifts she had received, Amira said she wanted to eat them later when breaking her fast.

Later, however, when asked what her plans were for Hari Raya, she gamely replied that she would get her "mama" and "baba", as she called her uncle and aunt, to take her to the cemetery to visit the graves of her parents and little sister.

Suddenly, she became mournful and burst into tears. There was pin-drop silence in the room as all eyes riveted on her and everyone felt a tug on their heartstrings.

Tragedy struck Amira and Aqila's family on May 2, 2015, when their parents Fairuz Nizam Hussain, 35, and Nova Safitri Azhari, 27, as well as six-month-old baby sister Nur Firuza Annisa, died in an accident at the Damansara-Ulu Kelang Expressway (DUKE) whilst on their way back to Batu Caves where they lived. This accident had received wide media coverage as it was a hit-and-run case.

Following the accident, the orphaned sisters stayed with their grandmother before moving in with their aunt Yusnidah and her husband, who have been given temporary guardianship of the girls, in Gombak, Selangor.

According to Yusnidah, who is a sister of the girls' late father, the sudden deaths of their parents had a more profound impact on Amira than Aqila

"It could be because Amira being the older of the two has more wonderful memories of her parents. Aqila is rather quiet and doesn't seem that emotional. It could be because she was only four when the tragedy took place," she said.

Yusnidah and her husband, who run their own businesses, have eight children of their own aged between nine and 27 and the arrival of Amira and Aqila has added more joy to their family.

"This is the third year the two girls are celebrating Raya with us. There's still a tinge of sadness but the two have been able to adapt well to our family," she added.

Yusnidah said Amira often expressed her love and gratitude to her (Yusnidah) by leaving her notes with contents such as, "Terima kasih mama sebab jaga Amira dan Aqila, I love you mama (Thank you mama for taking care of Amira and Aqila, I love you mama)."

"There are days when I would return home and they both would rush to hug me... who won't be touched (by such physical demonstrations of love)? They look happy but I know deep inside they are afraid of losing us," she said, her eyes tearing up.

After being granted guardianship of Amira and Aqila, Yusnida and her husband were required to undergo counselling at the Social Welfare Department to ensure that they could cope with two more children in their already large household and also accord their nieces the same love and care they did to their own children.