MH17 crash: Tears over Twitter

A Malaysian teenager's posting on social media to her mother, chief stewardess Dora Shahila Kassim on board Malaysian Airlines MH17, has drawn the attention of netizens.

"I lost my super hero. I lost my best friend. I lost my whole life," 15-year-old Diyana Yazeera posted on Friday as she thought of her mother.

She had been posting a series of heartbreaking messages to her mother on Instagram and Twitter.

Ms Dora, 47, was one of two chief stewardesses on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which crashed in Ukraine near the Russian border on Thursday.

"Mummy, it's so hard to digest it all. You were my strength but now that you're gone, who is? I love you but Allah loves you more.

"Remember that I'm always here, sending you my prayers. I'll see you soon, Mum. I love you," Diyana wrote on Instagram on Friday, reported New Straits Times.

The student at Tunku Kurshiah College, Seremban, had taken to Instagram and Twitter via her handle @DiyanaYazeera to express her grief.

"You were the one who took charge of everything. You were the strongest among all of us.

"You gave me everything that I needed and not what I wanted. You stood firm on your own grounds. You gave life to the house. You're my fun, hip Mummy. You're a fighter. You're a giver. You're a lover. You stepped up to the challenge.

"You were my everything. Your departure hit me hard... I'm sorry I couldn't grant your wish of taking you to my graduation day. But I know you'll be up there watching. I know you're here and you can see me but its devastating that I can't see you.

"No matter the situation, you're the most wonderful mother in the world. Have a nice long rest, Mum."

Reflecting on her loss, she posted on Twitter: "She was my perfection. Without her now, all starts crumbling down to a complete disaster." (sic)

Negative

But even as her posts got more attention on Twitter, it also attracted negative comments from some users.

User @AdammHaikall tweeted "weh weh weh weh weh", followed by crying emoticons - and it was re-tweeted by two others.

Diyana lashed back, writing: "None of you know how it feels. So don't b******* in my face saying that you do."

And to some offering conspiracy theories, she wrote "Tolong la jangan ("Please do not" in Malay) make any false speculations about MH17. If you don't know anything, might as well shut up."

Some of her friends and relatives came to her defence. Twitter user Kat wrote: "Before you ever think of hurting @DiyanaYazeera, step in line and try to go through me first."

DK wrote: "Don't disturb my dearest cousin. This is a warning."

'I'll take care of you all'

The young boy bravely consoled his grandfather as they reflected on the death of the boy's father, air steward Sanjid Singh Sandhu (above), who was on Flight MH17.

"Dadaji, don't be sad. Your son's gone, but this son's here. I'll take care of you all."

Those were the words uttered to his grandfather by 10-year old Hans Singh Sandhu, son of Mr Sanjid, reported liberal news portal The Malaysian Insider.

Hans's grandfather, Mr Jijar Singh, 71, recalled these words when Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh and Batu Kawan MP Kasturi Patto visited him and his wife Jagjit Kaur, 73, at their house in Penang's Alma yesterday.

Holding back tears, Mr Jijar said Hans, who lives in Kuala Lumpur with his mother, had told him this over the phone after the news of the crash broke out.

Mr Jijar now hopes that Mr Sanjid's body will be found and taken home to Malaysia for a proper funeral.

Intact

He said he was informed that his son's passport was among the first to be found, unburnt and intact, amid the wreckage.

"We hope his body will be found like that," he said.

Mr Jijar added that Mr Sanjid is better known among his relatives and community as Bobby. He got the nickname when he was a boy because the maid who looked after him in the 70s liked the hit Hindi movie Bobby. Mr Jijar also expressed sympathy for families of victims of MH370, which went missing in March and has yet to be found.

"At least I know my son's body is somewhere there, but they (relatives of Flight MH370 victims) have been in limbo for months," he said.

"Why is this happening to MAS (Malaysia Airlines)?" he asked.

Mr Sanjid, 41, had swopped flights to work on flight MH17 that crashed with 298 people. His stewardess wife, Madam Tan Bee Geok, 43, had swopped out of MH370, which vanished while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8

This article was first published on July 21, 2014.
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