KOTA KINABALU: Taqdiril Alim Bakar's last words to his mother in January were, "Please find me if I cannot be contacted after this".
Shortly after, the 30-year-old went missing in what authorities believe to be Tachileik in Myanmar.
“I am not sure what is going on, where he is now, and what happened to my son. I just want him home safe,” said Noney Kinsun, 50, when met outside the Tuaran police station not far from here Friday (March 14).
She had just lodged an official missing person’s report accompanied by Tuaran MP Datuk Seri Madius Tangau, fearing that her son had fallen into either a scam or trafficking ring.
Noney said that after that last call from her son on Jan 26, a short WhatsApp message came from him on March 11, saying that he was unable to return as there were problems there.
“After that, his phone couldn't be reached anymore,” said the devastated mother of two.
Noney pleaded to anyone possibly holding her son captive to let him go, so that he can return home safely.
“Please let him go. I just want him home safe,” said Noney.
It is learnt that Taqdiril had first told his family that he was going to Thailand with a friend in mid-2024 for a holiday but they suspected that he was heading in search of a job after his application to go to South Korea for work was declined due to immigration matters.
It is unknown who the "friend" was as Taqdiril did not share his or her identity with the family.
Tangau, meanwhile, said that as an MP and a member of Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights, he had reached out to his contacts in Thailand, Myanmar and even Cambodia to put out an alert for Taqdiril.
The embassies in this country have also been informed, he said, adding that Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Mohamad Alamin had been briefed about this case.
“Mohamad has started mobilising search efforts for Taqdiril as well so hopefully, we will have good news soon,” he said.
As sad and concerning this matter is, Tangau said it serves as a lesson to Sabahans and all Malaysians not to travel to Myanmar for the time being, let alone work.
He said there have been so many scam or trafficking cases involving Malaysians in that region and it was important that people take heed of caution given by the authorities on this matter.
