PEKAN: The wife of a fisherman who drowned recently paid tribute to her late husband as she shared how he would always put their family first and worked extremely hard to put food on the table.
"Before my late husband fell into the sea and drowned, he managed to send me a WhatsApp message telling me that his catch of prawns was too little, though hopefully it would be enough to pay for our child's school fees," said Halimatul Noor Akira Omar, 30.
Halimatul was talking about her husband Mohd Syamsul Helmi Abdul Aziz, 35, a fisherman who was reported missing after he is believed to have fallen into the sea while out catching prawns with two friends about five nautical miles from the Kampung Nenasi jetty here, before his body was eventually found on March 16.
She recalled Mohd Syamsul leaving the house at around 8.30am but only went out to sea at around 3.30pm on March 15.
Halimatul, a mother of three, said that she learnt of what had happened to Mohd Syamsul at around 3am on March 16, and that efforts to find him were already underway with the help of some other fisherman.
At the time, she said she was in disbelief at what had happened, but she never gave up hope that he would be found safe and sound.
"Only God knows how I felt at the time. I never thought that such a tragedy would happen to us. Now I will have to raise our children Muhammad Naqib Ramadhan, 6; Nur Hanan Aiman, 3 and Muhammad Harraz Rizqi, 11 months all on my own.
"It's like a nightmare for me. We have been married for seven years, and now I have lost my beloved husband and am only left with memories of him," she said when met by Harian Metro at their home in Kampung Beluru, Nenasi, here yesterday.
She said that just days before he passed on, she noticed changes in his demeanour as he would stare blankly into space and would often sit alone, though she had no idea what was on his mind.
Halimatul said that Mohd Syamsul was working very hard to come up with the money for the school fees amounting to RM150 for their eldest child who was entering the pre-school programme at Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Nenasi.
Hailing Mohd Syamsul as a very loving husband and father who never failed to make sacrifices and provided for their family till the very end, she said as a fisherman, her late husband was an abled swimmer but he suffered from shortness of breath made worse by an accident he was in prior to this, which she felt could have adversely impacted his efforts to save himself when he fell into the sea.
"I am somewhat relieved that in the end, my late husband's body was found at about 10.30am last Thursday (Mar 16), after it got wedged in the fishing net cast by some fishermen who were helping out in the SAR (Search And Rescue) operation.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those involved in the SAR operation, including the villagers of Kampung Nenasi and the village headman of Kampung Nenasi Pantai who helped out a lot.
"I accept what has happened as fate even though it is very painful to swallow. Hopefully we will be able to recover over time from such a profound loss. I need to be strong to face such a heavy test. I am trying to eke out a living by doing sales online but the income is erratic and uncertain.
"However, I must get on with life and raise our three children who need me. Now all of us are living with my mother, Zainab Muhammad, 62, who is grappling with health issues after suffering a stroke," she said.