KUALA LUMPUR – 2021 has been a disaster for all humanity, with the pandemic wreaking havoc on all kinds of travel plans, especially those of family matters.
To make matters worse, numerous reports of individuals misusing travel permits for non-official events have emerged as of late, resulting in tighter scrutiny on those who need to travel interstate for work or emergency purposes.
Yesterday (April 28), Aida Najwa shared a heartbreaking story of how she was turned away by the police when she tried applying for a travel permit to send her father to the hospital for his dialysis treatment.
Aida said her father had asked her to send him to the hospital, to which she agreed and decided to apply for the permit.
Upon reaching the police station, Aida told the officer about her destination and her reason for going there. Although she had yet to receive an official letter from the hospital, she hoped that the police would be sympathetic to her plight as her father desperately needed to undergo treatment.
Instead, the officer responded to her in a snarky manner:
“When I told the officer that my aunt usually sends my father to the hospital, he said, ‘Then where’s your aunt? Mati ke? (‘Is she dead?’)”
Deeply shocked and offended by his reply, Aida nevertheless remained calm and told the officer that her aunt wasn’t around to send her father.
The officer then suggested that Aida ask her siblings to help instead, but she explained that her brother was working and her sister doesn’t know how to drive yet.
Unfortunately, this only caused the officer to goad her with more provocative replies:
“If you’re not good at driving, shouldn’t you at least be good in booking a Grab ride? (Kalau tak pandai drive, takkan book grab pun tak pandai?)”
And if that wasn’t enough, the officer went on to say that Aida should also consider asking her neighbours to send her disabled father to the hospital.
“I even provided proof of my father’s illness and printed his dialysis letter, NRIC, and OKU card to show the police officer.”
Despite producing the needed documents, Aida was denied the travel permit as the officer deemed the evidence as “not concrete.”
Later in the post, Aida revealed that her father passed away not too long after, depriving her of the chance to see him for the last time.
“I’m sad because I’m sulking over things that aren’t my fault.”
Many netizens expressed their sympathy for Aida and criticised the officer for his lack of compassion in handling the matter.
Sources: FB/ Aida Najwa
Editor: Raymond Chen
Proofreader: Sarah Yeoh
