‘My dad was dying, but cops would not let me go to him’

 

Aida Najwa with her late father, Nasir Nordin, after taking him for his dialysis treatment in Nilai a few months ago. (Aida Najwa Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: A woman is grieving the loss of her father, knowing that she could have done something to prevent his death had she been allowed to make a short interstate trip from Bandar Tun Razak in Kuala Lumpur to Nilai, Negeri Sembilan.

The disappointment in not being able to make the journey was compounded by the attitude shown by the police when she went to request for permission to travel to take her father to Hospital Seremban.

Her father died yesterday and Aida Najwa Nasir can’t help feeling that she has been wronged by the police who denied her request to travel.

“He’s gone and he’s not coming back. My siblings and I will be the ones who have to live with this regret for the rest of our lives,” Aida told FMT.

On April 17, Aida went to the Salak South police station in Kuala Lumpur to ask for permission to travel to Nilai to take her father, Nasir Nordin who lives there, to Hospital Seremban after some complications arose.

Nasir, 52, was undergoing regular dialysis treatment and was also disabled.

In her request, Aida had prepared supporting documents like her father’s OKU (person with disability) card and the doctor’s appointment card.

However, the cops felt it was not enough. The 26-year-old said she could not produce the referral letter from the dialysis centre at that time.

In a Facebook post, Aida said she had told the police personnel at the station that her aunt would usually take her father for dialysis treatment.

She was taken aback when one policeman asked: “Then where is your aunt? Did she die?”

The policeman also asked why her two siblings could not send her dad to the hospital instead.

“I told them my younger sister was working while the other couldn’t drive. The policeman replied nonchalantly: ‘Doesn’t she know how to call a Grab?’”

According to Aida, the policeman then asked if any neighbours could help send her father to the hospital.

“The policeman could suggest that my father’s neighbour do this but would not allow me, his daughter, to drive him to the hospital,” she said.

“Only God knows how my heart feels. You (the policeman) didn’t allow me to make the journey although to me it was an emergency. And you asked me questions in such a rude manner. I tried to be patient because I was at the police station,” she wrote.

Aida was finally allowed to travel from Bandar Tun Razak to Nilai – but it was only to pay her last respects to her father.

She could not help but compare her bitter experience with that of VIPs and celebrities who were able to travel across states on much longer journeys and with fewer hurdles.

“You must be fair to all,” she said.

The distance between Bandar Tun Razak where Aida lives to Nilai is about 40km.

Aida said she wanted her experience to be a lesson to all, saying police should use more discretion to ease the people’s burdens.

“I wasn’t in the police station for long because there weren’t many people. What I regret is the attitude and treatment by the policeman and the lack of discretion.”

Aida added that she did not plan to make a formal complaint over the treatment she received, although she welcomed any probe into the matter.

“I’m willing to cooperate,” she said. - FMT