GEORGE TOWN: Dec 26 will always be remembered not only by the people in Malaysia, but also by those in countries hit by the 2004 tsunami such as Indonesia, Thailand and India, which claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands.
In Penang, the tsunami will forever etched in the minds of businessman A. Suppiah, who almost lost his daughter, S. Thulaasi, then 22 days old.
It was a story that could only be described as a "miracle".
The huge waves that hit Miami Beach in Batu Ferringhi, on that fateful day also smashed into Suppiah’s shophouse and then swept out a mattress with a sleeping baby on it into the sea.
Luckily, the second wave brought the mattress and the baby back to the beach.
Recalling the incident, Suppiah, 70, said he could never forget it.
“In an instant, the situation became chaotic with people shouting and screaming.
"Prior to that, a foreigner came to me and asked what the two 'white lines' or 'bubbles' forming in the sea that he had seen approaching the beach.
"I had no answer to it, but told him that December is a month of festival in Penang, where there would be a boat race, but he said it was not it (boat race), and that something was wrong.
“And then, the sea level rose and everybody went running helter skelter.
"So did I. I rushed to save my 12-year-old daughter and Thulaasi, but I could not get to them as I was swept by the powerful current,” he told Bernama recently.
Suppiah said his wife and Thulaasi were in a room in the shop when the tsunami struck.
“After that I went to search for my baby, but failed to find her until an Indonesian man came to me and told me that my baby was found safe on a mattress,” he added.
Thulaasi made headlines all over the world as “the miracle baby who floats home”.
Recollecting the ordeal, Suppiah said he was initially bitter about losing his belongings to the tsunami but after reading in the newspapers about the extent of the damage and loss of lives, the feeling of grief seeped in.
“It’s normal for us, humans, to feel bitter at first, especially when I looked at my shop with everything destroyed, but after reading about the tsunami in Sri Lanka, Acheh, Thailand that killed so many people... and my family and I survived in the incident, it made me feel grateful and made me seek forgiveness from God,” he said.
Following that incident, Suppiah said he would always hold special thanksgiving prayers on Dec 26.
Meanwhile, Thulaasi said she was grateful that God saved her in the tragedy.
“I was told about the tsunami by my father when I was about four or five years old. How grateful I am to be alive.
"I always thank God during my prayer,” said Thulaasi, who is now 15-years-old.
The tsunami, which was triggered by a 9.3 magnitude undersea earthquake off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia claimed more than 200,000 casualties in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Maldives and Sri Lanka.
Many of those killed were tourists enjoying their Christmas holidays in hot spots like Phuket in Thailand.
Acheh was hit the hardest as it was closest to the epicentre.
In Malaysia, Penang was the hardest hit with 52 deaths, from a total of 68 deaths nationwide. -- Bernama
