SEVEN YEARS ON, TOHOI TRAGEDY STILL TRAUMATISES SURVIVOR MIRSUDIAR

GUA MUSANG, Oct 11 (Bernama) -- Seven years ago, the country was shocked by an incident involving the 47-day disappearance of seven Orang Asli students from Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Tohoi, near here, in which five students perished while two were found alive.

For one of the survivors, Mirsudiar Aluj, 18, the memory of the incident is still fresh in her mind.

She said although she is happy to be with her family, at the same time the incident still traumatises her.

“I no longer want to study and just want to stay in the village with my family...I am happy here,” she said when met by reporters with her family in Kampung Gawin, near Pos Gob, recently.

She remembered the time after being found, many outsiders came by to meet her. However, it has been two years since she had met outsiders who asked how she was doing.

Meanwhile, Along Alej, 62, said that his granddaughter Mirsudiar is slowly getting back to living her life like a normal child, and seems to be moving on after those dark days.

He said after recovering from the trauma of being lost in the jungle, his granddaughter is now gradually socialising with other youths in their village, remains healthy and has even gained weight.

“Since the ordeal, Mirsudiar prefers being on her own and does not mix with other members of the family. She keeps having nightmares of being lost in the jungle with her other friends who died,” he said.

Following the incident, Along said that they decided to stop Mirsudiar from attending school as they are worried for her safety and a recurrence of such an incident.

Along added that they could heave a sigh of relief to see the girl growing up in front of their eyes despite having to drop out of school.

On Aug 23, 2015, seven SK Tohoi pupils fled from their hostel, as they feared being punished after going for a bath at a nearby river without prior permission.

After almost 50 days, Norieen Yaakob, then 10, and Mirsudiar, then 11, were found alive but in a gaunt state near the Sungai Perias, while the skeletal remains of five students were found in the same area.

The other five who didn’t survive were Ika Ayel, nine, Sasa Sobrie, eight, Haikal Yaakob, eight, Linda Rosli, eight, and Juvina David, seven, who were all from Kampung Gawin and Kampung Penad.

--BERNAMA