ROTTERDAM): Strange as it may seem, Mohd Ali Md Salim's Instagram username MASA 1777 and his video clip that became trending has a very simple explanation. It has nothing to do with the fact that the ill-fated flight crashed on 17th of 7 and the plane was a Boeing 777. It was actually the registration number of the Honda Civic which the neuropsychopathology student bought before he left for the The Netherlands three years ago. MASA was the acronym for Mohd Ali Md Salim – thus MASA 1777.
Two close friends of Mohd Ali were at pains to explain this when the trending clip drew some comments saying that it was a fake account.
According to Muhammad Hariz Aizat bin Azizan, 19, a student at College Zadkine Rotterdam, who also shared the same house with Mohd Ali in Rotterdam, there were people who claimed that the username was a fake.
“He bought the car just before he came to The Netherlands but has since sold it as no one was using it. It was all a coincidence. He went in the month of Ramadan, on a Friday night before the Nuzul Quran. We have lost someone we loved very much but we have to accept the fact that Allah loves him more,” said Hariz who said Mohd Ali was more like a brother to him since he came to Rotterdam five years ago.
The 15-second video clip, showing the interior of the plane before take off, was captioned “Bismillah #hatiadasikitgentar” (In the name of Allah..#feeling a bit nervous).
Ahmad Huzaimi Abdul Jamil, 30, a PhD in Construction Management at Vrije University in Amsterdam, who was one of four close friends who sent Mohd Ali off at Schipol Airport on the tragic day said, anyone who knew Mohd Ali would know that that was nothing unusual.
“It was typical of Mohd Ali to express his feelings when he felt nervous or worried especially when he was travelling. But when this tragedy happened, we thought perhaps this was some kind of a warning that he was going. At first to us, it was just normal. It was just something that Mohd Ali would do,” he said.
Both Huzaimi and Hariz together with Nur Fariza M. Shaipullah, 33, another close friend and Joe Ismail, 76, whom everyone affectionately called Uncle Joe, were the four who sent him off at the airport, after spending a sleepless night the night before, helping him to pack and bantering with him to keep him awake.
“He wanted a haircut after breaking the fast. So, I gave him a haircut in the kitchen. He was so excited about going back for Hari Raya. When my mother came to Holland, (he was close to my mother) he was so excited about going shopping with her. We went to the flea market and he bought a plastic bag full of soft toys for his sister's newborn,” recalled Hariz sadly.
And sadly too, those were the toys shown scattered at the crash site.
“Those were the toys for his sister's baby. My mother confirmed that because she saw him buying them,” added Hariz.
For Nur Fariza, the pain of the loss of her confidant and someone she considered a younger brother, was still etched on her face. They arrived in Holland at the same time three years ago and registered at their respective universities. Nur Fariza is a final year PhD student in Plant BioChemistry at the Uni of Amsterdam. Although Mohd Ali was at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, he was her rock listening to her problems, sharing her woes coping with life in a foreign country.
“There were three of us, Ali, myself and Liyana and we were always together, going on holidays to London and Paris, sharing everything, “ she said coming to terms with the loss.
When told of the crash, Nur Fariza fainted and has been in tears ever since receiving the sad news.
"He was like my brother, always there for me, always there for everyone,” she added.
The sentiment was shared many others, especially Joe who had rented out a room in his house to Mohd Ali.
“A more caring person, you will never find,” said Joe of his former tenant who cooked for him and cared for him when he was not well.
“When I organised a meeting of committee members for the Malaysian Association of The Netherlands and the cook didn't turn up, I asked Ali if he could help out. He said sure and made nasi lemak for 40 people. He never said no,” recalled Joe, treasurer of the association who has been in Holland for more than 40 years.
Before leaving for the airport, Mohd Ali had made Hariz promise to keep Joe, 76, company during Hari Raya.
“He was that sort of a person. Always caring for others.” That seemed to sum up Mohd Ali.
Indeed from his album, there was Mohd Ali, cooking for the community, helping someone to pack, joining in a kompang session and being a friend to everybody. The Malaysian community in Holland has lost a very dear son and a brother.
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