PARIT BUNTAR - Almost 52 years later, A. Perumal, 74, still grapples with a deep sense of loss for not having had the chance to see his father, S. Annamalai, one last time before the ferry attendant perished in the Sungai Kerian ferry disaster in 1972.
Reflecting on the heart-wrenching event that claimed 27 lives, Perumal, the eldest of eight siblings, recounted how, on that fateful day, he was preparing to go to work as a gardener at Sekolah Menengah Methodist (ACS) here.
"As I was heading out, a neighbour informed me that the ferry operated by my father had sunk in Sungai Kerian.
"So many emotions flooded over me at that moment. I grabbed my mother’s hand and we rushed to the scene,” he told Bernama when met at a session organised to retrace the ferry tragedy at Dewan Merdeka here recently.
The tragedy claimed the lives of 27 individuals, including students from Sekolah Rendah Methodist and Sekolah Menengah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SMJKC) Kerian in Parit Buntar, who were commuting to school on the ferry from Bandar Baharu on the Kedah side of the river.
The incident was triggered by heavy rain, which caused rapid river currents that broke the ferry's cable linking the banks of Sungai Kerian on the Perak side (Parit Buntar) and Kedah (Bandar Baharu).
Despite the tragedy, Perumal expressed pride in his father’s heroic actions, and noted that although Annamalai could have chosen to save himself, his sense of duty led him to risk his life to rescue the students, who were mostly Chinese.
"He could have saved himself, but driven by a deep sense of responsibility, he chose to risk his life to save the students,” he said.
This sacrifice did not go unnoticed; then Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah post-humously honoured Annamalai with the Pingat Pangkuan Negara for his courageous act.
Another victim’s family member, Chan Wan Teck, 70, recounted that before the incident, his 14-year-old younger brother, Wan Hock, a SMJKC Kerian student, was unusually reluctant to go to school that day.
Wan Teck recalled that their mother found it peculiar that his brother was so unwilling to attend school, leading her to insist he go.
"It was unlike him to skip school, but on that day, he seemed unusually hesitant, so much so that our mother had to force him to go. Perhaps this ‘odd’ behavior was a premonition of his fate,” he reflected. - BERNAMA