The sister of a Malaysian student allegedly enslaved by an extreme Left-wing sect for decades has today flown into Britain to see her 'before either of us dies'.
Retired teacher Kamar Mautum says one of the three captives freed last month is her sibling Aishah Wahab, who disappeared after joining the Maoist faction based in Brixton, south London.
She has landed at Heathrow to see her sister for the first time in at least 30 years.
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Flying in: Malaysian Kamar Mautum, a retired teacher, arrives at Heathrow from Kuala Lumpur, she believes her 69 year old sister, Aishah, right as a child, is one of the women allegedly held captive in South London
As she boarded a flight from Kuala Lumpur to London last night to be reunited with her sister, now aged 69, Mrs Mautum said: ‘I have felt so choked without her for years and years.
‘She was so talented; she was the apple of my mother’s eye. She asked for her on her deathbed.’
Miss Wahab is believed to have suffered a stroke while she was allegedly held captive by sect leaders Aravindan Balakrishnan and his partner Chanda, who were arrested in Brixton, South London last week.
Her sister added: ‘This has been a dark age for her and for all of us. I will do anything to bring her home. I want to see her before either of us dies. I am not sure if she will remember me but I am hopeful she will.
‘I hope her health is OK and she is receiving all the help she needs.’
Slavery case: Maoists Aravindan Balakrishnan, left, and his wife Chanda, in the wheelchair outside a 1997 inquest into the death of commune member Sian Davies
Aishah’s eldest sister, Hasnah Abdul Wahab, 88, said: 'I will hug her and cry if she comes back home'.
She told AFP at her Malaysian home: 'I thank Allah - he has realised my prayers to meet Aishah before I die.
'We have been looking for her for a long, long time.'
Miss Wahab won a Commonwealth scholarship to study surveying in the UK and moved here in 1968 with her fiance Omar Munir. But she soon became involved in extremist politics and turned her back on her middle-class upbringing.
Attracted to Balakrishnan’s group, Miss Wahab was so in awe of leader ‘Comrade Bala’ that she and Omar rowed over her ‘loyalty’ to him and eventually split, throwing her engagement ring in the Thames.
In shock: Aishah's sisters Kamar Mautum, left, and Hasnah Abdul Wahab, right, say their prayers have been answered and they hope to bring their sibling home to Malaysia
The Malaysian government is said to have been wary about her returning home because of her politics. Miss Mautum said their brother, who lived in London, discouraged visits by his Maoist sister.
Footage of Aravindan Balakrishnan, also known as Comrade Bala, has emerged from 1997
‘Aishah’s attitude was, “if you don’t want me, fine”. And then she disappeared,’ said Miss Mautum.
The family later asked a prominent Malaysian radical, Ishammuddin Rais, to help find her, without success.
Balakrishnan’s group eventually folded but Miss Wahab is believed to have remained one of his few followers.
A former member claimed she ‘cut herself off from everybody’, adding: ‘She remained with them, was financially dependent on them, had no friends – she became more and more reliant on them.’
Video footage of Aishah emerged last night after she was filmed in the doorway of a south London property, shouting at a man who has asked to speak to Comrade Bala.
The ITV report says that a Malaysian woman, seen wearing glasses and a plaid shirt, is believed to be Aishah.
Last night a picture of Aravindan Balakrishnan - the Maoist 'sect leader' accused of keeping three 'slaves' captive for more than 30 years - was seen for the first time.
The 73-year-old is accused with his wife Chanda, 67, of holding three women as slaves for three decades.
One of the women rescued from a Brixton council flat last month was the daughter of a renowned Bletchley Park codebreaker during the Second World War, it was also revealed.
Investigation: Police stand guard at the property in Brixton, south London, and are following many lines of inquiry including links to 13 addresses across London
Josephine Herivel, 57, was allegedly held captive by the couple along with 69-year-old Aishah Wahab, a Malaysian student who came to Britain to study in 1968.
Another woman, Sian Davies, who died in 1997, was a high-flying law student who studied at Cheltenham Ladies’ College before being ‘brainwashed’ by the militant communist collective in the 1970s.
She is believed to be the mother of the third alleged slave, 30-year-old Rosie Davies, who is said to have spent most of her life locked up.
Mystery: Sian Davies died after in 1997 after falling out of a bathroom window in the house the communists were living in in Brixton
Youngest victim: Rosie Davies' mother is believed to have fallen from a bathroom window and died
Yesterday her cousin Eleri Morgan said she bore a ‘striking resemblance’ to the youngest alleged slave, Rosie.
The 64-year-old retired teacher, who has called for her cousin’s death to be investigated again, said: ‘She had everything going for her, such a promising and bright future.
She met Comrade Bala and his wife whilst at university in London and I don’t know why, but she got sucked into his warped way of thinking and she became brainwashed.’
The women: Josephine Herivel, 57, pictured left, daughter of a wartime codebreaker at Bletchley Park, whose phone call sparked the rescue. Rosie Davies, 30, centre, who is believed to have spent her whole life in servitude. She is believed to be the daughter of Sian Davies, bottom right, who died after falling from a bathroom window in 1997. Aishah Wahab, 69, top right, the eldest ‘slave’ whose Malaysian sister has rushed to the UK today. - Daily Mail
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