Bella’s sister is now substitute mum for Eusuf, Mariam

BATU PAHAT: The absence of Mira Sharmilah Samsusah (Bella) on Aidilfitri this year certainly had an impact on her two young children, Eusuf Abdul Fatah, five, and three-year-old Mariam.

Bella’s sister, Norhisham, 37, said that sadness was clearly visible, especially on Eusuf’s face, who was pensive and did not speak much, unlike at previous Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations.

Norhisham, affectionately called Ayu, said that her nephew and niece seem to be expecting someone to give them motherly hugs and kisses.

“Thank you Ummi (that’s how Eusuf addresses Ayu). That’s what Eusuf said to me when I dressed him in Raya clothes, apart from saying that he didn’t see his mummy (Bella) on the morning of Hari Raya.

“His words made me tear up, and it shows that my nephew misses his mother deeply after not seeing her for more than four months,” she told reporters when met at the Banang Jaya Muslim Cemetery, here, on Wednesday (April 10).

According to Ayu, looking at the situation, she feels that she needs to be a ‘substitute’ mother to her young nephew and niece, to help them cope with their longing for their mother.

She also said that, with the arrival of Aidilfitri, she was missing her younger sister even more, as Bella would be the most excited person making preparations for Raya, and this year it was extra quiet as she could no longer hear Bella’s chatter.

“Likewise, during Ramadan, we used to break the fast together, but this time it was too lonely without Bella’s presence.

“This year we, as a family, celebrate Aidilfitri in our village in Kuala Selangor…I will try to make my young nephew and niece happy, as long as I am alive I will give them love. It is an ‘amanah’ (trust) to raise and educate them,” she said.

Bella, 32, a single mother of two, was reported missing on Dec 14, after she left in her boyfriend’s car at 11.50pm to go to a laundromat, but failed to return home.

Then on Jan 19, the skeletal remains, confirmed to belong to Bella, were found by the police in Lorong Imam Jailani, Kampung Batu 7 Tongkang Pecah, here, after being led there by one of the main suspects in Bella’s disappearance.

On March 30, police confirmed that bone fragments, found in an abandoned house in Tongkang Pechah, here, on Feb 28, belonged to the murder victim Bella.- BK