No parent imagines outliving their child. But when Halim Sidik received the call every parent dreads, his response wasn’t rage.
It was heartbreak, cloaked in faith, and a sentence that showed the depth of his soul: “I forgive him.”
He was just going back to campus. He never made it.
Halim’s son, 21-year-old Muhammad Adib Hazim, was among 15 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students who lost their lives in a tragic bus crash along the East-West Highway (Jalan Raya Timur-Barat, JRTB) near Tasik Banding, Gerik, Perak, on Monday.
Adib, the sixth of seven siblings, had been returning to his campus in Tanjung Malim from Jertih, Terengganu, when the chartered bus lost control and overturned after colliding with a Perodua Alza.
A grieving father who chose faith over anger
Despite the unimaginable pain, Halim remained calm and composed when speaking to reporters at his home in Kampung Pangkalan Cina.
Rather than directing anger at the driver, he chose to reflect on the bigger picture.
Allah loves Adib. We accept what has happened, and we hold no grudges against the driver despite all the things being said about him,” he said.
“Our son passed peacefully. I believe the driver has a family too, and he didn’t intend to speed. As for forgiveness, let him seek that from God.”
“I’m sorry,” says driver after surviving the crash
Just a day earlier, medias reported that the bus driver, 39-year-old Mohd Amirul Fadhil Zulkifle, had issued an apology to all affected students and their families.
He is currently receiving treatment at Hospital Taiping. The driver said the bus may have experienced a brake failure before the crash.
His statement offered some insight into what may have caused the devastating accident. But for Halim, the technical explanation mattered less than the human cost and the grace to forgive.
15 lives lost, dozens injured, and a country in mourning
The accident did more than take lives. It shook the entire country. With 33 others injured, including the driver, his assistant, and those in the Alza, Malaysians were left reeling.
Many shared their grief and anger online, calling for better safety standards for long-distance student transportation.
