It never crossed his mind that two decades of friendship with Rompin MP Jamaluddin Jarjis would end at a helicopter door last Saturday.

"I was with him for 23 years, I knew him for a long time and we were close. He was my friend.

"The last moment I was with him, I touched his knee and shook his hand," Bukit Ibam assemblyperson, Wan Kadri Wan Mahussin ( right ).

The flight on the AS3655-N2 Dauphin would be his last journey with Jamaluddin. The helicopter crashed soon after in Semenyih.

The day before the crash, Wan Kadri and Jamaluddin had boarded the same chopper with the same five people who perished. They were travelling from Kuantan to Rompin.

The five were Jamaluddin’s bodyguard Razakan Seran, prime minister’s principal private secretary Azlin Alias (left) , housing developer Tan Huat Seang, pilot Capt Clifford William Fournier and the captain’s acquaintance Aidana Baizieva.

The remains of Baizeva, a young Kyrgystan woman, remains has yet to be identified while her occupation has alternatively been given as an operations assistant of the company operating the helicopter, a restaurant manager, a flight enthusiast and a student.

Her presence on board the flight has triggered queries as to her role and in what capacity she was there in.

Recounting this in a sombre conversation with Malaysiakini , Wan Kadri said the female passenger and the pilot were already in the helicopter when he boarded on Friday.

"I didn’t know her [...] I didn’t even know her nationality.

"When I entered the helicopter at Rompin, she turned around and gave a me a small wave, that’s all. We didn’t talk.

"I have flown with Fournier for the past 15 years and he often brought his friends along but this was the first time I saw him bring along a woman,” said Wan Kadri.

The assemblyperson said the woman was seated up front with Fournier.

Bad weather

The party of seven then made the trip to Bandar Muadzam Shah located within the Rompin district and then back to Kuantan.

On the day of the fateful journey, Jamaluddin and Wan Kadri travelled from Kuantan to Pekan by car to attend a programme with Jamaluddin. 

After that, they attended the wedding reception of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s daughter at the Sultan Abu Bakar Lake Gardens.

They then boarded the helicopter with Tan, Baizeva and Fournier to head to Bandar Muadzam Shah.

Jamaluddin (left) wanted to make the stop to visit the family of a friend who had passed away that day but the chopper could not make the stop due to bad weather.

The helicopter then dropped Wan Kadri off at Kota Bahagia, also in Rompin, close to his home before moving on to Kuala Lumpur.

"And then it crashed," he said, finding out about the disaster from a friend later that day.

The friend had told him the chopper never made it to Kuala Lumpur yet Wan Kadri still desperately dialed Jamaluddin’s number hoping it was not true.

When the call did not go through, he called an officer who was supposed to fetch Jamaluddin at the Subang airport, who confirmed the tragic news.

"I was speechless. I am still in shock to this day but I feel his loss more and more everyday. He was a very good man. I am incredibly sad about what had happened," he said.

When a loved one dies suddenly, many try to recall their last moments together for signs that their time together were to be cut short.

Looking back, Wan Kadri said there were no such signs - Jamaluddin was just his ordinary jovial self.

While I'm still around

But what the former said days before his passing left an indelible mark on Wan Kadri's mind.

"He was normal, we chatted, laughed all morning. We went to visit his mother and for a jog. It was nothing out of the ordinary.

"But I remember one thing - he said he wanted to build a tahfiz (Quranic studies) centre."

He said Jamaluddin was adamant that he wants to build this religious school "while he is still around" and said he will use his own land for the project.

"He said that two days before he died after we attended a tahlil ceremony at Masjid Kampung Pianggu in Rompin."

Jamaluddin was buried at the Heroes Mausoleum at the National Mosque on Sunday.  

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