BANGKOK: National paragliding athlete Muhammad Nurniqmat Ruslan has died after falling during a training session at Hua Hin beach, Prachuap Khiri Khan in Thailand.
His father, Ruslan Mehat, 64, revealed that his youngest son had given him and his mother a sum of money at the end of last year and earlier this year for their Umrah pilgrimage.
"My son had just given me and his mother some money for our Umrah pilgrimage. I never thought it would be his last gift to us."
"Nurniqmat had given the money with the intention of serving the family and helping us perform our Umrah pilgrimage later. However, at that time, we never suspected anything," he said to Bernama when met at the Darul Abideen Mosque Islamic Cemetery in Bangkok on Saturday (Jan 4).
Ruslan said he was informed of the accident on Friday (Jan 3) evening and immediately booked a flight to Bangkok early on Saturday morning before continuing his journey to Hua Hin.
He noted that Nurniqmat, who worked as a technical support engineer at an IBM factory, was a loving family member and had been active in paragliding for the past two years.
"We never expected him to be involved in an accident and leave us forever. I accept Allah's will," he said.
Ruslan also stated that his youngest son was a kidney patient and had undergone a kidney transplant just two years ago.
"The late Nurniqmat was very happy after receiving the kidney and was often grateful that the organ I donated was a perfect match for his body," he said, his voice filled with emotion.
He also expressed his gratitude to the staff at the Malaysian Embassy in Thailand for their help in managing the transfer of the body from Hua Hin to Bangkok for burial.
Meanwhile, Nurniqmat's friend, Rafiee Aziz, 48, who was also training in Hua Hin at the time of the incident, said Nurniqmat was a talented athlete and had qualified for the pre-World Cup Paragliding event in India in February and the Asian Championship in Kazakhstan in May.
"We were both training at Hua Hin beach, and the weather was quite good at the time, but suddenly the accident occurred and Nurniqmat fell into the sea.
"I, along with other friends, tried to rescue him, but the current was too strong at that time. Nurniqmat was later confirmed dead at a hospital in Hua Hin," said Rafiee.
Nurniqmat's body was prayed over at a mosque in Hua Hin before being taken to the Darul Abideen Mosque Islamic Cemetery in Bangkok, where he was laid to rest at 6 pm local time.
The late Nurniqmat was the younger brother of Bernama Radio staff member Nurliyana Farhah Ruslan, who is based in Kuala Lumpur. - Bernama
