SUBANG, May 8 — “Asmuni will always be remembered for his services and sacrifices made for the Muslim community at Masjid Al-Noor in Guam, United States as he was an imam and a religious teacher at the mosque,” said a good friend of Asmuni Abdullah who died in the helicopter crash in Betong, Sarawak, Dr Rosli Yaakob said while serving the mosque, Asmuni brought religious education and helped spread Islamic teachings to the community in Guam.
“At the mosque, he was described as a friendly and approachable religious teacher by the Muslim community there as he was always willing to share his knowledge on religious issues,” he told Bernama when met at the RMAF base in Subang today.
He said Asmuni was one of the members of the Mosque Committee who had contributed to the construction of the mosque together with Muslims in Guam several years ago.
Throughout their 30-year friendship, Rosli said Asmnuni had been good-natured, friendly and very respectful of the elderly.
“His death is a profound loss to me as well as friends who knew him. It was shocking,” he said.
In addition, Rosli said together with his friends they had planned to organise a wedding anniversary for Asmuni and his wife Datuk Noriah Kasnon who was Plantation Industries and Commodities deputy minister but it could not be fulfilled.
“We were planning to have a simple celebration for them after Hari Raya Aidilfitri, but Allah loves them more,” he said.
So far, the bodies of five of the six people on board the helicopter have been found.
Search operations are being carried out by 650 members of various agencies to look for the remaining victim, Filipino pilot, Captain Rudolf Rex Ragas.
The ill-fated helicopter took off from Betong to Kuching at 4.12pm last Thursday, before it disappeared from radar screens about three minutes later. — Bernama
