He believes the awards are a step forward to help everyone affected by the Sabah tragedy heal.
Mr James Ho, 45, a banker, lost his daughter Rachel, 12, when the 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck Sabah on June 5.
The tragedy claimed the lives of 10 people from Singapore – seven pupils and two teachers from Tanjong Katong Primary School (TKPS), and the adventure guide who accompanied them on their trip to Mount Kinabalu.
When told that the guides and teachers would be honoured with Commendation Medals at the National Day Awards, Mr Ho said the recipients deserved to be recognised.
“Every gesture has helped in the healing process. The award is another gesture, a step which will help us all to heal over time,” he said.
“The award is a testament of the country showing its appreciation. It is the least we can do to commend their sacrifice. They risked their lives and we are eternally grateful.”
Eleven teachers, guides and instructors who survived the quake were given the award and commended for their devotion to duty and exemplary conduct during the quake.
The two TKPS teachers, the adventure guide and the two mountain guides who were with the team from Singapore were awarded the commendation medal posthumously.
Mr Alec Wing, who is in the technology business, said he was very touched that the recipients have been recognised. His son, Tristan, is a survivor of the earthquake.
“They are being recognised for their bravery and courage. They died helping our children,” he said.
“Some of the teachers and guides were safe when the earthquake hit but they went back up to get the other children. They put themselves in harm’s way and were killed.”
SURPRISE
Ms Quek I-Gek, 43, the director of Mountain Torq and spokesman for the trainers, said: “The awards came as a surprise as all my guys felt that they were just doing their jobs to look after as many people as they can.
“Now, they just want to continue their normal lives and reconnect with the mountain as it is their home and around which their lives revolve.”
She added that the trainers who lost their lives in the tragedy will be fondly remembered.
Mountain Torq trainers Ricky Masirin, 28, and Valerian Joannes, 27, were awarded the commendation medal posthumously.
“Valerian and Ricky gave their lives to protect and safeguard the students, teacher and tour guide. It was their act of valour in the line of duty,” said Ms Quek.
Mr Mohamed Faizal, 28, who has been a TKPS teacher for three years, said he was very appreciative of the gesture.
“I think I speak for all of us when I say it’s nice that we are recognised,” he said.
“We didn’t do anything in the hope of winning an award. We did what we were supposed to do and we just did it to the best of our ability.”
He added that he was appreciative of the support that has been given after the tragedy.
“I want to thank my friends and colleagues, everyone including the Ministry of Education, who has provided us with support,” he said.
“As teachers, we have always taken pride in our job and will continue to do so.”
PETALING JAYA: First there was the Mount Kinabalu foreign nudists, now photographs of a man posing buck naked at Gunung Irau in Cameron Highlands has gone viral on social media sites and YouTube.
All the shots, taken at the same spot, show him in various poses, standing in front of a signboard with the words Brinchang 2.35 km and the Malaysian flag in full view.
It cannot be confirmed however if the bespectacled man, whose identity is still unknown, is a local or foreigner.
“We are regaining our strength. We are healing as a TKP (Tanjong Katong Primary) community,” said Principal Caroline Wu during a media briefing on Monday (Jun 29).
The school reopened following the June holidays, during which seven students and two teachers lost their lives after an earthquake hit Mount Kinabalu. A total of 29 students and eight teachers were on an overseas learning journey in Sabah when the 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck on Jun 5. They were scaling Mount Kinabalu at the time as part of the school’s leadership course called Omega Challenge.
To support the student population, Mrs Wu said they would be taught “coping strategies, as well as values and resilience” during the form teacher guidance period. She added that affected students will be supported, and has been, since they returned from Sabah.
The school also has four counsellors now, after two new ones were brought in as part of the Education Ministry’s efforts to support the school.
“I’m really very confident that with the support from our parents, and resilience from our staff as well as our students, we will be able to bounce back and recover. We will emerge from this stronger,” Mrs Wu said.
The principal had addressed about 700 students from the Primary Three, Four and Five levels during the morning assembly on Monday, and will address Primary One and Two students later this afternoon. She had addressed the Primary Six cohort last week.
In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck Sabah on Jun 5, Channel NewsAsia visited the families of three mountain guides who lost their lives in the tragedy.
KOTA KINABALU: Mount Kinabalu looms large in Sabah, physically and spiritually.
At 4,095 metres above sea level, it is one of the tallest mountains in Southeast Asia. Wherever you go in Sabah, you can get a glimpse of its imposing presence. Its peak, though often shrouded in mist, looks majestic on a clear day.
For the indigenous Kadazan-Dusun tribes, Mount Kinabalu is also the sacred resting ground for the departed. They hold on to this belief, even though the majority are now Christian.
In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck Sabah on Jun 5, Channel NewsAsia visited the families of three mountain guides who lost their lives in the tragedy.
“JOVIAL, CONTAGIOUS, HAPPY-GO-LUCKY”
Marius Salungin had ten siblings. His brother, Joseph Selungin, was the youngest. Marius remembers him fondly.
“We laughed a lot when we were around him,” Mr Salungin said, when asked to describe Joseph, who died in the earthquake with two climbers. “Because he told us a quite a lot of jokes. He was fun to be with. That’s him.”
Marius Salungin lost his brother Joseph Selungin, a mountain guide, in the Sabah earthquake. (Photo: Ray Yeh)
“One of the guides found him,” he continued. “He told us that he was holding two customers.”
The guide that Mr Salungin had referred to is Mohd Sharul Lizam, who said: “I knew what he was wearing, what backpack he was carrying, so I could confirm that was Joseph. He was covering his two climbers. They cuddled. But rocks fell on top of them.” None from the group survived.
Joseph Selungin was 33 years old. He is survived by his wife and two children aged four and two.
To help them cope, Mr Salungin said: “We discussed among our siblings in the family and we will try to help our best. And as for now, I think the donations that have come in will help the family. Hopefully the wife will be able to handle the money well.”
Joseph Selungin’s funeral service on Jun 10. (Photo: Shushan Lam)
Mr Salungin also told Channel NewsAsia that he would “tell Joseph’s children that their father was a very responsible person, also very jovial, contagious and happy-go-lucky.”
“He would have wanted the children to be successful and be like the father, responsible and to have positive characters.”
“HE WOULD BE A GOOD FATHER TO MY CHILDREN”
Valerian Joannes and Jessica Sikta got engaged in December last year and had planned to tie the knot in November. But Mr Joannes, who was on the ropes atop Mount Kinabalu when the earthquake struck, died in a rock slide with 10 young students and teachers from Singapore.
“He told me that the children were very young,” said Ms Sikta, 25. “Before this, he only took adults.”
Valerian Joannes and Jessica Sikta on their engagement day. (Photo: Jessica Sikta)
Mr Joannes, who was 28, had worked as a Via Ferrata trainer for three years.
His fiancée told Channel NewsAsia that he loved kids. “He would pinch them on the cheeks, but he cannot hurt the children,” she said. “If we had children, I’m sure he would have been a very good father. But now it’s only a dream that will never come true.”
For their wedding, Mr Joannes had planned to surprise her with a song he composed and performed. “He was very talented and he was a good singer,” she said. “The last song he was able to give us was titled ‘I will hold your hand.’
“In the song, he said that every relationship goes through rough times, but we are always able to get back together.” Ms Sikta explained, while the song played in the background. “And then he sings, please forgive me.”
Jessica Sikta remembering her fiance. (Photo: Shushan Lam)
It is believed that Mr Joannes had time to get out of harm’s way after the earthquake, but died trying to save some of students.
“If he is still with me now, but the kids are gone, I know he would not be happy,” said Ms Sikta. “He would have been traumatised.” She believed “that’s why God took him”.
“PROUD THAT HE DIED FOR A REASON”
Sapinggi Ladsou, 56, had 10 children. Of the five boys, four became mountain guides like himself. Robbi was one of them.
“We feel the impact of Robbi’s passing,” Mr Ladsou told Channel NewsAsia. “It’s not just losing one child out of 10 children.”
Robbi Sapinggi a few months before the earthquake struck. (Photo: Nelson Chua)
According to eyewitness accounts, Mr Sapinggi, 30, had survived the initial rock fall after the earthquake. Badly injured, he instructed his climber to descend without him, because he wanted to help others on their way down the steep slope.
He died shortly after rescuers found him a few hours later.
“We received many messages from Robbi’s ex-clients. They told us how Robbi had helped and encouraged them,” said Lynn Thiang of Amazing Borneo, the tour company that worked with Mr Sapinggi.
“If you have climbed Mount Kinabalu before, you would know many people wanted to give up right before reaching summit because it was very tiring,” said Ms Thiang. “But Robbi would encourage the climbers and give them the confidence. We are all proud of Robbi, that he died for a reason.”
Robbi’s funeral. (Photo: Amazing Borneo)
The veteran mountain guide left behind his wife, Reena Joshi, and their 6-month-old baby. Ms Joshi, a UK national, met Robbi seven years ago while travelling through Sabah.
“Her family is worried about her,” Mr Ladsou said, “so I want her to stay here, so that we can help her.”
Ms Thiang also said: “Robbi really loved his son and I’m sure he wants to see that his son is well taken care of.”
(Photo: Ray Yeh)
THE SABAHAN SPIRIT
Visiting bereaved families and friends so soon after the tragedy struck, Channel NewsAsia’s producers did not expect the warm welcome extended to us from everyone we met along the way. In those few days, we witnessed another kind of spirit that lives in Kinabalu’s mountains.
It is the spirit that transcends human instinct to run from danger, to save lives. It is also the spirit that welcomes strangers into one’s home amid personal grief and sorrow.
The locals call it the Sabahan Spirit. And it is this spirit that will help the communities pull through and rebuild.
The remains of Tanjong Katong Primary School (TKPS) teacher Mohammad Ghazi Mohamed and student Navdeep Singh Jaryal Raj Kumar — the last of the 10 from Singapore who died in the Sabah earthquake to be identified — were flown home yesterday.
Although their remains were identified last week, further DNA tests prevented an earlier return. The 10 were on a trip to Mount Kinabalu when an earthquake struck on June 5.
A funeral was held yesterday for Ghazi at Kampung Siglap Mosque, attended by a large crowd that included Ghazi’s family, friends, colleagues and students. At one point, mourners had to queue to enter the auditorium where his casket was held. Inside the auditorium, a bouquet of white flowers lay on top of Ghazi’s casket. Mourners surrounded the casket, many of them silent in prayer.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the funeral, Education Minister Heng Swee Keat said: “I thank the Malaysian authorities for expediting the work to allow us to bring the bodies of Ghazi and Navdeep earlier than we had expected.”
Among the mourners was TKPS student Isaac Lee, one of Ghazi’s former students. The Primary 3 student said he always looked forward to Ghazi’s physical education classes, describing them as really fun.
A friend of Ghazi, who declined to be named, said the teacher’s passing was “a huge loss to the school”. “There’s hardly anything negative to say about him,” he said. “He was a true, loyal friend who helped you when you were in need.”
Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim, who also attended the funeral, was one of the pallbearers who helped carry Ghazi’s casket into the van that brought the body to Pusara Aman Muslim Cemetery in Lim Chu Kang for burial.
Holding back tears as he spoke to the media, Dr Yaacob, who is also Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, said: “(He was) such a young man whom (according to) the stories you hear was selfless, very dedicated.”
He added: “I suppose the most important thing for us is … to perhaps take his spirit forward. The things that he has done for his schoolkids, for his family — you must find some way to (let his legacy live on).”
Speaking after the burial, Mr Mohd Faizal, one of Ghazi’s colleagues from TKPS, said Ghazi, who leaves behind a wife and three children, was “happy-go-lucky”.
“I never saw him under stress, and it rubbed off on all of us,” said Mr Faizal, 28. “I have lost an elder brother. He was more than a colleague, and that will never change.”
Mr Heng said support would continue to be provided to the family members and students affected by the earthquake. “Our students in Tanjong Katong Primary School are recovering well. They are doing fine, and the principal and school leaders have put up a plan to bring them back to school when school reopens so that they can continue with a normal routine,” he said.
