KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 — The Malaysian humanitarian mission to Somalia was given assurances by local police and soldiers there that the aid team would be safe while in the war-ravaged country, the head of the Putera 1 Malaysia Club said this morning amid mounting criticisms that the Malaysians were ill-prepared for the trip that resulted in the death of a Bernama cameraman.
Datuk Azeez Abdul Rahim, who is also an Umno supreme council member, said Noramfaizul Mohd Nor’s death appeared to be fated because the cameraman had insisted on going to Somalia even though he had not been originally assigned by Bernama to cover the mission.
Azeez (picture) appeared on RTM’s Selamat Pagi Malaysia this morning to defend his club against attacks and calls for it to be held accountable for Noramfaizul’s death.
Noramfaizul was killed in the Somali capital of Mogadishu when African Union peacekeepers allegedly shot at a truck in which six mission members, including the 39-year-old, were travelling.
The cameraman — who worked in national news agency Bernama for 11 years — leaves a wife, Norazrina Jaafar, and two sons aged eight and three years.
Azeez said this morning that Noramfaizul had been a last-minute inclusion in the mission and had asked to go just two days before the team left for Somalia.
“He told us he should go because he had experience covering other missions to Gaza and Pakistan with us.
“I told the people in Bernama I was comfortable with him and they agreed to send him,” said Azeez.
The Putera 1 Malaysia Club chief added that his NGO had also sent a recce team consisting of a former ambassador and an ex-army colonel to Somalia as part of the mission’s preparations.
“When we arrived there we were also told by the police and army men there... they assured us it would be safe... everything was going well. We were careful.”
Azeez said the Malaysian team was also protected by local soldiers and that was the reason why Malaysian soldiers did not accompany them.
He pointed out, however, that all of those who participated in the mission did so voluntarily and they were made aware of the risks.
International media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranks Somalia as the deadliest country in Africa for media personnel, with 23 media workers killed since 2007.
The famine-stricken country has not had a functioning government for more than 20 years.
Azeez said all participants, including those from the media, were made to sign indemnity forms, and were told right up to their departure that they could withdraw from the mission.
He said that even though the participants had waived their rights by signing an indemnity, the club had still taken out special insurance for the members.
Azeez said he had been informed by the insurance company that RM200,000 would be paid out to Noramfaizul’s family.
Yesterday, Noramfaizul’s relatives demanded that Putera 1 Malaysia Club be held responsible for his death.
“They (Putera 1 Malaysia Club) are the ones who organised (the mission). They cannot lepas tangan (evade responsibility),” Noramfaizul’s uncle Abu Bakar Md Yasin told The Malaysian Insider at the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base here yesterday after the Bernama man’s remains were sent back.
Another uncle, Md Tahir Md Yasin, said his nephew’s death could have been avoided.
“They should wear bulletproof vests. It’s not a stable country,” he told The Malaysian Insider.
The 69-year-old retired teacher said Bernama should also be held accountable for Noramfaizul’s death, besides the Putera 1 Malaysia Club.
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