Malaysian woman hopes to reunite with long-lost father in Singapore

By Massita Ahmad

SINGAPORE, Nov 15 -- Malaysian, Ali Jais, who is believed to be still in Singapore, is being sought by his family after being away for the past 20 years.

The last place of work of the father of three who was born in 1936 was at the "Cheney Building", Beach Road.

The search appeal was made by Khazimah Ali, his youngest daughter, and was also shared on the Malaysia-Singapore Border Crossers Facebook page which now has about 72 thousand members.

The only photo of her father that she kept was also appended in the posting.

"Abah (father) had separated from my mother. Throughout my life, I met Abah less than 10 times, " said Khazimah, 37, when contacted by Bernama.

The mother of four said the last time she met her father, who is from Kuala Selangor, was around 2001, in Kuala Lumpur.

Various efforts have been made to track down her father, including checking records at the Malaysian Immigration Department a few years ago.

"According to the last record, Abah has not left Singapore for a long time," said Khazimah, who now lives in Selayang near Kuala Lumpur.

"In the last meeting, I had a chance to look  at Abah's passport and saw that there was a lot of history of him travelling to and from Singapore," she said.

Khazimah and her two other sisters, Hasliza, 41, and Haslina, 39, and their half-brother Zuber Zainal Abidin who Ali had taken care before leaving without a clue, are confident that their father is in a nursing home.

In tears, she admitted that she missed her father and wanted him to know that he now has seven grandchildren.

"I'm more worried about his health amid COVID-19.. he must be 84 years old by now.

"There is no ability for us to find him in Singapore. We hope Abah has a good life there. If Abah is already married, we are very grateful,” said Khazimah, who is  still hoping for a reunion.

Khazimah, who currently works at Lanson Place Bukit Ceylon Serviced Residences, Kuala Lumpur, requested Malaysians and Singaporeans who knew Ali Jais to contact her at +6011 1112 6552, Hasliza +60 17-388 7508 or Haslina +60 10-771 9747.

-- BERNAMA