ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 15, 2014) – A Malaysian father who tracked down his missing daughter in Basilan province in southern Philippines has finally contacted her, according to Bernama.
The Malaysian news agency said Abdul Ghani Md Yassin, 45, was able to speak with his 20-year old daughter Siti Nor Shafika, who went missing two years ago before being located on Basilan by the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Malaysian Consulate in Davao City.
Bernama last year reported about how Abdul Ghani desperately tried to trace his daughter in the Philippines after she went missing in March 2012.
Now, father and daughter finally spoke via Skype from a police headquarters in Basilan. The woman has apparently left her home in Malaysia and eloped with a Filipino man, Tontong, whom Abdul Ghani was also able to speak.
Malaysian authorities have phoned Abdul Ghani last month to say that her daughter has been found alive in the village of Kuhun Lenuh Al-Barka town. She also has written a letter saying that she had married and wanted to continue staying in Basilan.
The woman’s father, however, raised doubt about the veracity of the letter, saying, during past phone conversations with his daughter, Siti Nor Shafika, expressed concern over her safety and wanted to go back to Malaysia.
“After two years I can now look at my daughter’s face again. We talked and I asked her to return to the family. She agreed and wants to return to Malaysia to celebrate Hari Raya Aidil fitri with the family this year,” Abdul Ghani told Bernama.
“In my conversation with Siti Nor Shafika, she confirmed that she had married Tontong, but she still wanted to come back to Malaysia, possibly with her husband,” he said, adding he is willing to accept the Filipino as his son-in-law, but wanted them to live in Malaysia.
Abdul Ghani said the Malaysian Consulate in Davao City is helping her daughter secure a passport to enable her to return to Malaysia. “The Malaysian Consulate in Davao will help to process my daughter’s international passport to enable her to return immediately,” he said. (Mindanao Examiner)
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