'Husband's desire to celebrate daughter's birthday not fulfilled' - Sharipuddin's wife

SEPANG - His wish to celebrate the birthday of his beloved daughter, which falls on Aug 27, was not fulfilled after the e-hailing driver, Sharipuddin Shaari, 53, died in a light plane crash in Elmina last Thursday.

The deceased's wife, Suriana Muda, 43, said that she and her husband were planning a surprise for their youngest daughter Nur Izzara Arissya's ninth birthday.

She added the gift was also bought a week ago and is kept to be given to her daughter on her birthday.

"Come Aug 27, we planned a surprise; he had already bought the gift a week ago.

"We never forget our children's birthdays, especially Nur Izzara Arissya, the youngest child, whom he is very fond of," she said after Sharipuddin's funeral at the Islamic Cemetery Sultan Hishamuddin Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi (BBST) on Sunday.

The body arrived at the Sultan Hishamuddin BBST Mosque for prayers at 12.20pm and prayers ended at 12.50pm.

Asked about the intended gift, Suriana, however, just kept quiet and was not ready to share it publicly.

Suriana said the deceased showed a change in attitude when he was more affectionate than usual and had time to reply on WhatsApp half an hour before the incident.

"My husband's last message to me was him informing that he had to send a passenger from KLIA to Shah Alam. Then he asked me to pick up the children from school. He also took the time to call to inform me that he grabbed a drink at TTDI (Taman Tun Dr Ismail).

"A few days before the incident, I noticed a change in his spirit; he was reluctant to go to work; he had to force himself; and he always wanted to be with me," he said.

In the meantime, Suriana informed that the husband had also started using the Nissan Almera six months ago.

"He's been using Grab for a long time, but before that, he used a friend's car and took up the rent-to-own scheme. After he had enough money, he just bought his own car last March.

"We bought it with the money that had been saved. We only started using the car for six months," he said.

In Thursday's incident, a total of 10 victims were killed in a light plane crash in Elmina involving two plane crew members, six passengers, and two civilians.

Sharipuddin, who was driving down the road at the time of the incident, died after the plane crashed into the car he was driving.