A close-knit village on the outskirts of the Malaysian capital was grieving yesterday for the deaths of 16 people, mostly children, after an orphanage was hit by a devastating landslide.
As the search for bodies ended, a local lawmaker said the orphanage, situated at the foot of the steep hill from where the mudslip thundered down, had been built without official permission.
Following heavy rain on Saturday, rocks, sand and mud swept through a tent where the orphans and some of their caretakers had been practicing a drum performance at about 2:30pm, witnesses said.
A policeman at the scene in Hulu Langat, south of Kuala Lumpur, said 16 bodies had been recovered, including a 34-year-old caretaker. The ages of the others killed ranged from eight to 19 years old, while 10 people remain in hospital.
“The search and rescue operation is over. We have completed our mission,” said a police officer at the scene, who did not want to be named.
Villager Mohamad Azam, 38, said the last four bodies were taken out at about 5:30am yesterday.
“I know some of the boys. They are very good boys. They recite their prayers early in the morning every day,” he said.
Abdul Ruhie, 14, who lived at the orphanage, said during Saturday’s drum rehearsal they heard a loud rumbling sound and then rocks and sand started rolling down a hill.
“It happened with lightning speed. I managed to run away. I did not turn back to look, but I heard some of my friends screaming. Then there was silence,” he said. “I panicked, I was in a state of shock. I can never forget this incident.”
“I’m not angry with nature, this is fate, it is Allah’s wish. I know I have to pray harder to Allah to protect me and my friends,” Abdul added.
Residents said the orphanage had been in operation for about 10 years, but authorities were unsure if it had a permit.
Che Rosli Che Mat, an opposition lawmaker with the conservative Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, confirmed that the building was built without any approval.
“We will shut down the orphanage and provide financial assistance so that they can build a new home in a safe place,” he said. “The deadly tragedy is God’s will even though it was man’s foolishness which contributed to this tragedy. We can plan, but Allah determines.”
Mohamad Suzi Tabot, the fire department chief of Selangor State, which covers the village, said: “I am not sure if this orphanage is on our records. We never came here for any inspection.”
Abdul said that at the all-boys orphanage, they would wake up early in the morning to recite verses from the Koran, after which they would go to school.
Their dawn Koranic recitals were blared through a loudspeaker across the valley, lined with bungalows and rows of fruit trees.
The town of Hulu Langat was in a state of grief, with hundreds of people, including relatives and friends, paying their respects for the boys at the nearby Sultan Hishamuddin Alam Shah mosque and cemetery.
Many wept as they kneeled and kissed the forehead of the dead boys, who were wrapped in white cloth and taken away for burial.
Tajuddin Osman, 53, who traveled from Kuala Lumpur, said he was related to two victims.
“I know the two young brothers who died in the landslide. I am very sad,” he said, wiping away tears.
Residents yesterday said the eerie silence had hammered home the reality of the tragedy.
“I know the boys very well. They were a pleasant lot, they will greet you whenever they see you,” local resident Ishak Abdul Majid, 56, said. “We used to hear Koranic verses being recited early in the morning. This morning, there was total silence.”
“We will miss all of them. This valley is now swept with gloom and silence,” Ishak added.
Residents said grieving should take precedence over blame, but asked why the legality of the orphanage’s operations was only being raised after the tragedy.
They said the orphanage had been helping those without parents and boys who came from troubled families.
Ramli Jafar, 59, said that when his son got married five years ago, boys from the orphanage performed with the kompang drum.
“It breaks my heart to know that this has happened to them,” he said.
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