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Headlines

The Ecosoc News Monitor

09 May 2008

Missing woman reunited with family after 3 years

2008/05/08

Nurul Wahida Hamzah (left) gets a big hug from her sister Saadiah Hamzah following her return at the LCCT, Sepang, yesterday.
Nurul Wahida Hamzah (left) gets a big hug from her sister Saadiah Hamzah following her return at the LCCT, Sepang, yesterday.

SEPANG: Nurul Wahida Hamzah, who had gone missing in 2005, was reunited with her family yesterday.

The 20-year-old was traced to East Indonesia by a non-governmental organisation and brought home last night.

She arrived at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal at 8.40pm looking pale and tired and was greeted by her sister, Saadiah Hamzah, 38, and cousin, Saibah Marwan, 35.

This is the second successful "search and retrieve mission" jointly undertaken by the Indonesia-based NGO, Migrant Care, and the Kota Baru-based NGO, Kijang Care.

Just last month, the two NGOs tracked down another girl, Che Siti Nor Azreen, who had been missing since December. Che Siti from Rantau, Negri Sembilan, was also found in Indonesia.
Migrant Care Malaysian representative, Alex Ong, had gone to Jakarta on Monday with Nurul's cousin, Fairuz Sulaiman after his colleagues in Indonesia traced Nurul to Desa Gelanggang, Lombok Timur in East Indonesia.

"We wish to thank the NGOs, the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta and the Indonesian government for their help in getting my sister back home.

"I will take her back to my place in Klang and let her rest before leaving for Teluk Intan to meet our mother," said Saadiah.

Three years ago, after completing her SPM examination, Nurul Wahida left for Lombok Timur with an Indonesian man, M. Yusup, 40, who was at that time a construction worker in Teluk Intan.

Ong said Fairuz contacted him after reading about the case of Che Siti and sought his help in bringing Nurul back home.

"Fairuz had received a call from an Indonesian friend who told him that he had seen Nurul in Desa Gelanggang.

"Fairuz then contacted us and within a week our colleagues in Indonesia managed to find Nurul, who at that time had been left alone as the man had come back to Malaysia to work at a Felda scheme in Slim River, Perak."

According to Fairuz's friend, Nurul had married the man soon after they went to Lombok Timur in 2005 and had changed her name to Putri Sofia. She also had a baby boy who died after 18 months due to breathing difficulties.

Ong said following Migrant Care's success in locating Che Siti, they have been getting countless calls from parents and relatives who have lost their daughters, mostly teenagers.

He said when his colleagues in Indonesia went to look for Nurul, they noticed several other Malaysian girls also living in the same village, who were allegedly married to Indonesian men.

He said Migrant Care with the help of Kijang Care had also located another girl, Normalisa Abd Ghani, who was reported missing in Bahau, Negri Sembilan. Efforts are now being made to bring her home.