BATU PAHAT - The six-month-long wait for the family of Musthafa Kamal Abdullah, 49, who went missing in Mecca ends after receiving word from the Malaysian embassy on his death.
His son Muhammad Nabil, 26, said despite the news being a heavy test for his family, he had accepted his father's passing.
Mustafha was a teacher at Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Parit Raja.
"I was tearing up after the Malaysian embassy contacted me at 11,40am on Friday informing of our father's death in Mecca. I immediately told my mother, Zurina Muhammad@Shamsuddin, 49, and four siblings.
"I was informed by the embassy there that my father had died on Feb 13, through biometric scans and all funeral arrangements had been done including the burial," he said when met at his home in Sri Gading, here on Saturday.
On Dec 6, 2022, Musthafa left to perform his Umrah pilgrimage with his son Muaz, 17 and returned home to Malaysia on Dec 18.
The father of five had been reported missing on Dec 12 after Muaz could not find his father in their hotel room in Mecca.
On Jan 20, Nabil and Muaz left for Mecca to find their father, but their efforts were futile.
Nabil said in addition to waiting for the death certificate, their family wanted to find out the cause of death and the location of where he took his last breath.
Nabil worked in the Batu Pahat Qadi Office and intended to bring his mother and four siblings to visit his father's grave in a cemetery in Mecca soon.
"I hope there will be good that comes out of this incident and my father had passed in good condition (in ihram) and in a good month of Rejab.
"I hope to bring my mother to the Holy Land and visit my father's grave. However, we intended to head there after the Haj season," he said.
Nabil thanked Malaysians who prayed for his father after receiving news of his disappearance after it was reported on local media.