Around 200 mourners turned up at the funeral of a pair of sisters who died in a fire that occurred at their family home in Johor on Monday night, with many holding balloons while shedding tears.
However, the most heartbreaking scene came in the form of the sisters’ mother crying uncontrollably and uttering a sentence which would shatter even the hardest of hearts.
‘My daughters aren’t dead yet!’
A China Press reporter who was at the funeral observed that relatives and friends of the victims came to say their final goodbyes before the hearse carried their bodies out from the funeral hall.
The girls’ parents were overcome with grief, especially their mother who couldn’t accept the fact that she had lost two daughters in the blink of an eye.
According to MCA Economic Consultative Committee chairman Tan Tuan Peng, who attended the funeral and is the godbrother of the girls’ mother, he told the Chinese daily that the latter rushed towards him and wept:
My daughters aren’t dead yet. Please help me find a doctor to save them!”
Urged for smoke detectors to be mandatory
Tan, who is also the chairman of MCA’s Pasir Gudang division, called on the government to follow the West’s footsteps in making the installation smoke detectors compulsory for homeowners.
He added that people dying from smoke inhalation during a fire isn’t new in Malaysia and that smoke detectors can make a difference between life and death.
“Smoke detectors are relatively inexpensive and homeowners should install them in the living rooms, kitchen, and upper floors.
“When a smoke detector detects heavy smoke, it sets off a loud alarm as a warning. This provides additional time for people to escape. Even one minute, including a second, could make all the difference.”
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