KUCHING: "Don't forget to perform your daily prayers. Remember Allah at all times because we will not know when our time is up."
These were the last words of Corporal Sharif Mohd Siddiq Al-Attas Wan Sabli, 29, to his younger brother before leaving for work today.
It was as though he was prescient, as not long after that, he was shot dead by a colleague at the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base in Kota Samarahan.
Sharif Mohd Saddam, 27, said the two of them were supposed to go for a fishing trip together as his brother had just bought a new fishing rod.
"We were excited and looked forward to going fishing, since my late brother just got the new fishing rod. My family and I are still reeling from the pain of losing him.
"It was so sudden and now he is gone," he said when met at the emergency unit of the Sarawak General Hospital's Heart Centre in Kota Samarahan here.
Barely holding back his tears, Sharif Mohd Saddam said his brother's wife had just completed her confinement after giving birth to their third child.
"My brother's children, including his 2-month-old son, have lost a loving father," he said, adding that his late brother, the second of seven siblings, had served in the RMAF for 12 years.
He was transferred from Kepala Batas in Kedah to Kota Samarahan camp about two years ago.
Meanwhile, the victim's best friend Mohd Nadzmir Mohideen described Sharif Mohd Siddiq as a disciplined and fearless person who dared to speak up when he was at work.
"As a friend, he was helpful and an easy person to get along with. This is why many of us enjoyed his company. I was shocked to learn about the shooting incident this morning," said the 28-year-old, adding that they met at an RMAF training course in Perak and have been close friends since then.
Police had released the identities of the four victims who were killed in the shooting incident. Aside from Sharif Mohd Siddiq, the three other dead were Corporals Mohamad Ehsan Sehamat from Asajaya and Ho Swee Boon from Lundu, as well as Aircraftman Luk Nesly Nabau from Sibu.
Samarahan police chief Deputy Superintendent Sudirman Kram said an initial investigation found that the suspect had gone on a rampage and entered the guard station at the Handau Squadron 330 camp and took the firearms that were there.
There were several other RMAF personnel at the guard station at that time, he said.
"The suspect had even asked them whether they want to live or die. Sharif Mohd Siddiq tried to calm him down but he fired a shot that hit Sharif Mohd Siddiq in the stomach, prompting the others to run for safety," he said in a statement.
The RMAF in a statement said a shooting incident involving four of its personnel occurred at 7.15am today while they were on duty at the camp.
The RMAF urged all quarters to refrain from any speculations until police had concluded their investigations, adding that the air force would also set up an investigation board to ascertain the cause of the incident.
