TUMPAT: When Maznah Ismail, 44, received a call from her daughter, Nor Diana, 21, who had been missing for three weeks, she felt a sense of relief taking over.
However, the mother felt something was amiss with the way her daughter spoke.
"It felt like it wasn't her true self. She spoke a few words, and she remained silent after that," Maznah said.
Maznah said Nor Diana called her at 11am yesterday, and she was further surprised when she was also contacted by police from the Kota Setar police headquarters in Kedah, informing her that her daughter had filed a police report in Johor (Seri Alam police station) earlier.
"The police informed me that Nor Diana reported that she wasn't missing but rather safe and wanted to quit studying besides looking for work," she said.
"The day before yesterday, she did not mention wanting to quit her studies at all. Instead, when I asked her if she wanted to come home, she said yes but didn't say when," she added.
Maznah said it felt strange because Nor Diana was a cheerful girl. But when the mother and daughter talked yesterday, Nor Diana only managed to answer briefly to every question, and it seemed like she was someone else.
Maznah said Nor Diana remained silent when asked about her address in Johor.
According to Maznah, the family is convinced that someone is with her daughter.
"I am very sure that something is happening to her, and we are at a loss to find her, but we will try our best," she said.
She said Nor Diana had previously admitted to knowing a woman named Ika through Instagram.
During their last phone conversation, Maznah briefly spoke to Ika, who claimed to be from Meru,
Perak, and who said that Nor Diana just wanted to stay at her house for two days.
A first-year student nurse studying for her diploma at the Health Ministry's Alor Star Training Institute (ILKKM) Campus in Kedah, Nor Diana, has been reported missing for the past three weeks.
She was supposed to return to her family home at the KTMB Tumpat Housing on Feb 29 during the mid-semester break, but she failed to do so, and her whereabouts are unknown up until now.
Maznah said they were given until March 27 by the ILKKM Alor Star campus to resolve the issue of Nor Diana's disappearance, and if she does not return to studying, further action will be taken, including terminating her studies.