Shock and grief ripple through close-knit families
Mr Muhammad Asyraf Ahmad Buhari (left) and Mr Nasrulhudin Najumudin. Photos: Facebook
SINGAPORE — His eyes were red when he spoke to reporters at Pasir Ris MRT Station after rushing to the scene yesterday afternoon. The cousin of Muhammad Asyraf Ahmad Buhari, who identified himself only as Mr Khairul, said: “He was newly hired … I don’t know what happened, I just heard there was an accident,” he said.
Standing beside him, a man who said he was the deceased’s best friend, added that they had met up just a few days ago to celebrate Asyraf’s birthday. TODAY learnt later that Asyraf’s parents were overseas and on their way home at press time.
Throughout the afternoon, family and friends of Asyraf, 24, and Nasrulhudin Najumudin, 26, the two SMRT employees who died after being hit by a train while carrying out maintenance work, were seen streaming in and out of the station.
Some cried, while others grouped together for support as SMRT staff members shielded them from the media.
A man who arrived at the station told TODAY that his relative, an SMRT employee, was “quite traumatised” after witnessing the accident. He was then quickly ushered into the station by SMRT personnel.
In the evening, friends and relatives gathered at the homes of the two men. When TODAY visited Nasrulhudin’s home in Tampines yesterday evening, a group of about 10 friends were waiting at the void deck of the housing block to receive his body. His relatives did not want to be interviewed.
Despite their shock and grief, his friends remembered the good times they shared with him.
Mr Mohd Hafeez Khan, 26, had been Nasrulhudin’s close friend since they first met at the Institute of Technical Education in 2008, where they both studied electronic engineering.
“I saw (the news of his death) on Facebook. It did not cross my mind that it was him until I saw the name. It really breaks my heart. I was hoping that it wasn’t him,” Mr Hafeez said.
The two of them, together with other close friends, had plans to travel together after the Hari Raya celebrations later this year.
“All this while, all the holidays I’ve been on, have been with him. We’ve travelled to Phuket, Kuala Lumpur and (other parts of) South-east Asia together ... He had the intention to further his studies, to do a degree. Those were his plans,” Mr Hafeez added.
Another friend, Mr Muhammad Zulhilmi, 26, remembered Nasrulhudin as someone “who liked to crack jokes”. “We will always remember his laughter; it’s different from the rest. His laughter will always be the loudest and the most cheerful one,” the civil servant said.
Over at D’ Heritage Apartments condominium on Lengkong Empat near Chai Chee, several of Asyraf’s friends gathered last night to pay their respects.
Mr Muhaimin Mostafa, 24, met Asyraf at a logistics company where they were part-time employees about six years ago, and they were platoon mates in Basic Military Training (BMT). By sheer coincidence, they ended up working in the same company: He joined SMRT as a technical officer last December, a month before Asyraf.
Calling his late friend “friendly, cool and humble”, the technical officer, who last saw Asyraf last Monday, said that he used to confide in the deceased about the issues he had in his personal life. “I’m going to miss his advice in future. All his advice was really meaningful,” he said.
Mr Aidil Azmi, another of Asyraf’s BMT platoon mates, stopped at a car park for an hour because the news of his friend’s death left him with “no mood to drive anymore”.
Asyraf used to prompt him to contemplate his future, the 24-year-old deliveryman recalled. “He asked me to (not) be playful anymore. We’re already 24, no longer kids,” he said. VALERIE KOH, KENNETH CHENG AND ASYRAF KAMIL
