PONTIAN: A boy and his sister lost their lives in a road accident after they wanted to attend classes despite their school being closed due to the haze.
Their elder brother, who took them on his motorcycle so they could see the school for themselves, was killed as well.
The three siblings – Nordaniel Aiman Norlizan, 18, Nordaniel Fikri Norlizan, 11, and Puteri Naufa Raisha Norlizan, eight – were found by their grandfather, lying motionless at the scene of the accident.
Their aunt, Norimah Khamis, 40, said the siblings were earlier told by their mother and grandmother that school was closed yesterday due to the haze.
“But Nordaniel Fikri, who loved going to school and rarely skipped classes even when he was not feeling well, insisted on going.
“Then, his sister wanted to follow as well. So, their elder brother took them both.
“No one expected that the journey to school would cut their lives tragically short,” she said.
She described the three of them as “good children”.
“They didn’t talk much. They were shy, especially Puteri Naufa Raisha.
“She still had her pocket money for school in her baju kurung pocket,” she said mournfully.
“Their mother also told me that she had just bought new shoes for Nordaniel Fikri, who loved football. And Nordaniel Aiman was in the midst of applying for GiatMara.”
The children’s father, daily wage labourer Norlizan Khamis, said he received the devastating call from his father-in-law while he was at work.
“My father-in-law had gone to look for them as they had yet to return after leaving the house in the morning.
“He found them lying motionless at the scene of the accident and almost fainted at the sight.
“The whole family is still in shock.
“I did not expect that this morning was the last time I would see them alive,” he said at Hospital Pontian yesterday.
The father of six described the children as kind, soft-spoken and who barely caused trouble.
“They were very close and were always there for each other.”
The three children were laid to rest at the Kampung Parit Haji Sirat cemetery after a post-mortem yesterday.
Johor education and information committee chairman Dr Muhammad Naqib Md Ghazali said counselling sessions had been arranged for the family, while the state government would provide financial aid and help with the funeral arrangements.
“The family and school have confirmed that the mother knew about the closure, but the children were just eager to go to school.
“We were told that the accident happened about 200m from their home while they were on their way back from school.
“The cause of the accident is under investigation. We will leave this to the police,” he said after visiting the family here.
