Grieving Malaysian singer Yuna slams anti-vaxxers' lies about her cousin's death from Covid-19

When Yuna returned to Malaysia in March 2020 for work, she was only supposed to be there for a week.

However, the first Covid-19 lockdown was announced and the Malaysian singer-songwriter had to extend her stay; and she's been there for almost a year and a half now.

It was a blessing in disguise, as she admitted to digital publication Malaysianskini that she managed to spend more time with loved ones and was thankful for this opportunity.

But, tragedy struck.

Her cousin, Amilya Saila Aminoddin, who was also diabetic and had a failing kidney, died from Covid-19 after coming into close contact with someone who had symptoms.

In July, Yuna announced the gut-crunching news on Instagram.

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A clearly heartbroken Yuna began her caption by expressing her love for Aminoddin.

"My heart is shredded into pieces. I love you. You rest now Amilya, but know that you left a mark on all of us," she wrote.

Yuna's caption also pointed towards how inseparable she and her cousin were.

She added: "I never thought I would lose you to this pandemic, Amy. We made a pack to never get sick. To always remain vigilant. We checked on each other. I am just devastated. I am in disbelief. I have lost a piece of me. I don't know how to live a life without you in it.

"You were always there with me since we were babies. It's going to take a lifetime to let you go."

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Aminoddin's unexpected passing from the virus had a tinge of wretched irony as they were extremely vigilant when it came to Covid-19 matters.

"It was an issue that we were both very passionate about and we agreed to take care of ourselves," Yuna told Malaysianskini.

The 34-year-old added: "Even if I went to a photoshoot prior to the recent lockdown, I would hire a medic on set who would sanitise everything and make sure everyone was following standard operating procedure (SOP).

"I was very careful about it and my cousin was too. We were especially careful around her as she was diabetic and had a failing kidney."

Yuna also mentioned that her cousin's mom was hospitalised and fighting Covid-19 so the family didn't have time to properly grieve for Aminoddin.

"It is just painful. Every day we try to move on knowing that she is in a better place," she said.

Yuna never expected the virus to affect her family to this degree and she's taken aback at just how quickly a family's health condition can deteriorate.

ALSO READ: Breathing, talking and singing can spread Covid-19: NUS study

As Yuna and her family continued to grieve Aminoddin's death, a separate matter had been rumbling online which caught the singer's attention.

An anti-vaxxers group had apparently used Amilya's story to drive their agenda. According to Yuna, they are suggesting that Aminoddin died because she took her first dose of vaccination.

Yuna was having none of that and provided a sharp-edged response via Instagram stories.

She reiterated that the virus took Aminoddin's life and said that if she had "completed her vaccine", she would have probably stood a chance.

Yuna also told Malaysianskini that she is keen on educating more people to make "better judgments" about the virus.

"For example, with the oximeter. I think people are tired of my tweets and posts of the oximeter, but that knowledge saved my aunt's life," she said.

She has sent out a few oximeters to families who weren't able to afford the device as she hopes that it will make a difference, and they won't have to experience the pain of losing a loved one to Covid-19.

amierul@asiaone.com