The final act which took his life

PETALING JAYA: “It will be my last show.”

Those were Mejar Mohd Zahir Armaya’s words to his wife just before a live firing demonstration took his life.

In an interview here, Nour Shafinar Harun, 31, recalled the last message sent by her army commando husband prior to him taking part in the event held in conjunction with the launch of the Fifth Infantry Division and 13th Infantry Brigade at the Lok Kawi army camp near Kota Kinabalu.

A simulation of the demonstration had been conducted since Aug 19 and yesterday was the event proper.

“I received the text message from my husband but later, I was notified of the bad news and that the shot had strayed slightly and went above the bullet-proof vest he was wearing,” she told mStar.

The news portal reported that during the incident, Mejar Zahir was part of a demonstration team that was set to perform at 8.30am.

It said his team was the third to come on that morning, adding that Mejar Zahir was acting as a criminal who would be ‘shot’ by a soldier.

However, the shot fired by the fellow soldier strayed and hit him, the report added.

Meanwhile, Mejar Zahir’s family was saddened over what was to have been a happy “balik kampung” for the elite commando.

His homecoming to Kampung Indai, Tuaran – where his mother and other relatives reside – after a seven-year absence, had been greatly anticipated.

His mother, Rusunjan Mohammad, 56, was shopping for supplies at the wet market to cook dinner for the family when she received a call about the tragedy.

“He had called at around 7am, saying he wanted to go back to Tuaran for dinner on Wednesday night. He asked for ikan sembilang,” Rusunjan, who appeared calm, told reporters outside Queen Elizabeth Hospital 1’s Forensics Department in Kota Kinabalu.

“I was at the pasar when someone from his office called.

“As a mother, I accept what happened. I wish he could be buried here but his wife’s wish is for him to be buried in Perak,” she said, adding that she last met her firstborn in Kuala Lumpur when she visited him last month.

His uncle, Mirdat Mohammad, who is Rusunjan’s younger brother, said the family hoped that the authorities would conduct a proper investigation into the incident so that they would know what had gone wrong.

“While we accept his fate, we hope it will be thoroughly investigated and if there are any errors, they will not be repeated in future.

“We do not wish to blame anyone as there are many assumptions. We call on everyone not to politicise the issue,” he added.

Mejar Zahir’s father, well-known actor-comedian A.R. Badul, expressed his shock when contacted about his son’s death.

“The body will be brought back and buried in Ipoh,” the 70-year-old, who is formerly married to Rusunjan, told mStar. - Star