TASEK GELUGOR: "Mummy, where is daddy? Why has he not returned home?," asks eldest child of missing Malaysia Everest 2023 Mission (ME2023) climber Muhammad Hawari Hashim, 33.
Hearing imparied Hawari, is believed to have reached the summit of the world's highest mountain two weeks ago but has gone missing shortly after.
Four-year-old Hana Sakeena Muhammad Hawari constantly asks her mother in sign language about her father.
"My two children (Hana Sakeena and Haris Suffian) would ask for their dad every night, more so Hana. She misses him to the extent of drawing a picture of our family on a mountain.
"It is as if she knows her dad is there," Hawari's wife, Saffiyah Tang Xie Lie, 34, told reporters when met at her mother-in-law's home in Kampung Permatang Kerai Besar here today.
Saffiyah, who is also hearing-impared, was accompanied by nephew, Muhammad Danish Danial Muhammad Hafizul, 17, who helped to translate her sign language.
"We have the same issue (hearing impaired) and interact with one another using sign language," she said.
Hawari went missing while descending from Camp Four of the mountain.
His last contact was after he informed the ME2023 team of his success in reaching the peak two Thursdays ago at 3.30pm Nepali time (5.45pm Malaysian time) via walkie-talkie.
The news of his disappearance was reported by Nepal's online media, The Himalayan Times.
Earlier, Hawari's family received a visit from Tasek Gelugor member of parliament Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan, who handed the family some contributions.
Saffiyah said the family remained positive and hoped the search for her husband would be extended until he is found.
"I hope the request to extend the search for my husband will be extended. At the same time, I hope those who know about my husband's disappearance will pray for the best for us.
"My emotion has not been stable after news of his disappearance. What more, he promised to return home early and for us to welcome him at KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport). However, that did not happen.
"The last time he contacted me was on May 15, saying that he would start his hike. I only got to know through the ME2023 Facebook page that he managed to conquer Mount Everest. The telecommunication network there is very limited.
Meanwhile, Hawari's mother, Che Tom Hassan, 64, said, until today, she had not received any sign on her son's whereabouts.
"Every day, I would conduct solat hajat prayer and recite the Surah Yasin but there has been no lead. I have not dreamt of anything.
"However, I really hope the search will continue," she said.
Wan Saiful said he would work on providing counseling services to Hawari's family to provide support in the face of what he described as a very challenging situation at this time.
"What happened gave a sense of trauma to this family and I will try to propose this matter for the attention of other agencies, especially asking for counseling help, to help face a very difficult challenge," he said.