KULIM: Kulim/Bandar Baharu member of parliament Datuk Abdul Aziz Sheikh Fadzir has offered to bear the cost of bringing home the remains of Malaysian national Mohd Azhar Abdul Wahab, who was found dead in a hotel room in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on Wednesday.
Aziz's special officer, Mohd Najib Mohd Ali said the MP will also bear the cost to flying two of the victim's family members to Ho Chi Minh to claim the body of the 33-year-old.
"Datuk Aziz has decided to assist the family in all aspects involved in bringing the remains back to his hometown here, especially considering the financial difficulties faced by them.
"Apart from providing them with financial assistance to claim and bring back the remains, our representative will also be assisting them there with the claiming process.
"We have contacted the Malaysian embassy in Vietnam concerning the matter and the family may be leaving for the city on May 5," said Najib.
In an earlier report by Bernama, Mohd Azhar's younger brother, Mohd Noorazman, 31, had expressed hope for financial assistance to bring home the victim's remains which cost about RM40,000.
The victim's mother, Rohani Ismail, 59, however said that she could not continue with her plan to go to Ho Chi Minh to claim the remains of her son due to health problems.
"We are truly grateful and thankful with the help provided by Aziz. There is no way we could afford the total cost for the tickets to Ho Chi Minh to claim and bring back the remains which can reach to about RM40,000, as we were told.
"Unfortunately, I could not join my son to claim the body due to some health problem. Instead my son, Mohd Norazman, 29, will be going to the city together with a friend.
"My only hope is that everything will go smoothly," she said.
Based on a statement released by the Foreign Ministry on Friday, Mohd Azhar was found dead in a hotel room in the Ho Chi Minh city on April 27 and that the police were still investigating the cause of the death.
The victim's younger brother Mohd Noorazam, 31, said that his brother went to Vietnam on April 15 with a close childhood friend. known as Angah, for a holiday and that the two were scheduled to return to Kampung Air Merah, Kulim on April 28.
Mohd Azhar, who was unmarried, was the second of three siblings and was working as a shop assistant in Kulim. He was also the vocalist for the band Svatantrata, which is active in and around Kulim and had also performed in Singapore.