KLUANG, June 17 — A retired soldier’s dream of seeing his youngest daughter continuing the family’s military legacy ended in tragedy when Private Siti Khadijah Sungip, 24, was killed during a grenade exercise at Hobart Camp in Gurun, Kedah, yesterday.

Her father, Sungip Jais, 65, said the deceased, the youngest of seven siblings, joined the Malaysian Army (TDM) out of a deep passion for the military and a desire to carry on the family tradition.

“She had been interested in the military since childhood. She once told me she wanted to continue the family legacy because I was in the Army as well.

“After completing her Diploma in Civil Engineering (Highways and Transportation) at the Mara Higher Skills College (KKTM) in Sri Gading, she applied to join the army,” he told Bernama at his residence in Taman Sri Lambak here today.

Sungip, who served with the Royal Artillery Regiment (RAD), added that his daughter was close to the family and had expressed her intention to postpone marriage to care for her parents.

“She didn’t want to think about marriage yet because she wanted to look after Mum and Dad first,” he said, holding back tears.

The victim’s elder sister, Siti Zaiha, 39, said Siti Khadijah sent a photograph via WhatsApp at midnight on June 15, which is now the family’s last keepsake.

She said the photo showed her sister during a shooting practice session, the most enjoyable part of her training since joining the Army last year.

“Siti Khadijah said she had more training the next day and that the grenade exercise would start around 8am.

“However, at about 1pm, I received a call informing me my sister had been involved in an accident. At first, I thought it was a minor mishap or a road accident.

“Not long after, I received another call informing me the incident occurred during training and that my sister had passed away,” she said.

Siti Zaihah said the loss is tough for the family to accept, as her sister was always cheerful and showed no changes in behaviour when she returned home for the recent Aidiladha holidays.

“The last time we met was a week before Hari Raya Aidiladha. She looked happy as usual and gave no sign of anything amiss,” she said.

In the 10.57am incident yesterday, Siti Khadijah and another personnel, Corporal Norazmi Abu Bakar, died on the way to Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital (HSAH) in Sungai Petani from injuries sustained in the explosion.

Siti Khadijah received the Best Female Recruit (Academic) Award in January for her performance during basic military training at the Army Basic Training Centre (Pusasda) in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan.

Born on Sept 19, 2002, in Kluang, she underwent training as a female recruit with Juliet Company before being posted to the Royal Army Engineers Regiment (RAJD).

Her remains were buried at the Taman Sri Lambak Islamic Cemetery here this afternoon. — Bernama