Husband Appeals For Immediate Diplomatic Efforts To Locate Nadia Kesuma

KEPALA BATAS, Jan 17 (Bernama) -- The husband of actress Nadia Kesuma has appealed to the government to mobilise immediate diplomatic efforts to trace his wife, who was reported missing while transiting at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah on Thursday.

Prof Dr Muhammad Kamarul Kabilan Abdullah, 57, who is a lecturer at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), said time is a critical factor and urgent action is needed to determine the whereabouts of his wife.

“I only want her to return home safely, and every minute means a great deal to us. If the minister or the government is directly involved, the process can be expedited.

“What I can do might take two or three days, but if the Malaysian government contacts its counterparts in Saudi Arabia, it could be done in just a few minutes. I don’t want to imagine anything bad happening to Nadia, but the situation calls for immediate action,” he told reporters when met at his home in Taman Bertam Putra here today.

He said a report on his wife’s disappearance has been lodged with Wisma Putra, while the Consulate General of Malaysia in Jeddah is working with the Saudi authorities to trace her whereabouts.

Muhammad Kamarul Kabilan said his wife, whose real name is Nadiah Kasumawati Abdul Karim, joined an Umrah-London-Paris travel package organised by Nuh Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd together with 21 other pilgrims, departing from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at 1.48 am on Tuesday.

He said Nadia had sent him a photograph of her seat on board the aircraft and informed him that she had arrived safely in Jeddah at about 4 am local time, which marked their last communication.

“After that, the agency told me that Nadia hadn’t boarded her connecting flight to London. At first, I thought she might have missed it, but I started to worry when my calls and messages went unanswered, even though her phone was still active,” he said.

He said location tracking showed that his wife’s mobile phone was still within the airport area, but authorities later informed him that Nadia was believed to have exited the terminal without the device.

“She never goes anywhere without her phone, so I was surprised when I was told she left without it. On top of that, neither of her checked-in bags was collected from the baggage carousel,” he said.

Muhammad Kamarul Kabilan said he is prepared to travel to Jeddah at any time if required, but has for now been advised to await further developments from the consulate.

He added that Nadia enjoyed travelling and always kept her family informed of her movements, particularly updating her children whenever she arrived at a destination.

“She also performed the umrah with close friends last year without any problems, so this situation is very unusual and very worrying for our family,” he said, adding that they have three children aged 11, 13 and 15, while Nadia also has a 25-year-old daughter from a previous marriage. 

-- BERNAMA