HEMALATHA’S DEATH: Wisma Putra a let-down

By : RATNA RAJA A. KASIPPILLAI, Kuala Lumpur

nst, April 09 2009

Hemalatha Kasipillai died in the November terror attacks in Mumbai

IN your report "Consulate liaised with Hema's elder brother" (NST, Feb 28), I was referred to as the sister of the late Hemalatha Kasipillai, a Malaysian who died in the Mumbai terror attacks on Nov 26, 2008. In fact, I am the elder brother of Hemalatha.

I flew to Mumbai to search for her while Kalai Selvan, the eldest brother, (also mentioned in the report) stayed back to coordinate matters.

I would like to reiterate that at no time did Wisma Putra contact us. Yes, there was communication, but it was initiated by me and my family members; meaning, we made the calls.

Let me list the reasons we say Wisma Putra did not communicate with any member of Hemalatha's family and relatives except in specific instances:

If Wisma Putra had been liaising with Kalai Selvan, whom they identify as the eldest brother, they need not have called on the day my letter was published in the NST (Feb 25) to verify who Kalai was. And they would not have got my gender wrong.
In my letter, when I stated that my relatives had been communicating with Wisma Putra, it obviously included Kalai.

The NST report dated Nov 29, 2008 stated that I needed Wisma Putra's help. When contacted by an NST representative, Wisma Putra informed him that I should go to its office to fill forms and prepare a letter of appeal.

Wisma Putra's contention that Hemalatha should have registered with the Malay-sian consulate in Mumbai is unrealistic. Do the thousands of Malaysians who go to India on a short-term basis register with the consulate?

When I was at the funeral parlour in Mumbai making arrangements to transport my sister's body back to Malaysia, I called the consulate requesting assistance. There was none forthcoming. Instead, a friend helped me.

When the body arrived in Malaysia on Dec 1, 2008, we went through much red tape before MASKargo released the body.

After my letter was published in the NST, I had a call from the Mumbai consulate regarding my sister's passport, MyKad, cash, credit cards, etc. They told me they had couriered the documents on Feb 12.

By the time my letter was published, I had still not received these documents. On Feb 26, a family member noticed a large white envelope placed in my gate. The envelope contained the much awaited high-security documents.

The items had been sent via ordinary mail (postage of RM3.90). Is it wise to use ordinary mail for documents of such importance? Who takes responsibility if they are lost or damaged? If Wisma Putra had really been liaising with us, would it not have been more prudent to ask a family member to collect it from Wisma Putra Kuala Lumpur?

I am saddened and shocked at the indifference and attitude displayed by the one agency that I, as a citizen, could depend on in such trying times. At the end of the day, Wisma Putra spent RM3.90 on my sister's tragedy.

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2009/02/28

'Consulate liaised with Hema's elder brother'

KUALA LUMPUR: Wisma Putra has denied the claim by the sister of the late Hemalatha Kasippillai that it had not been in communication with the deceased's family during the Mumbai terror attacks on Nov 26 last year.

It said the Malaysian Consulate General in Mumbai, after being informed by Hemalatha's colleagues that she was in her room in the bombed Taj Hotel, had telephoned her elder brother, Kalai Selvan Kasippillai, on Nov 27.

"The ministry informed the deceased's brother that the Malaysian Consulate General was making every endeavour to ascertain the whereabouts of the deceased with the close cooperation of the local authorities," it said in a statement on Thursday.

"In addition, all communication pertaining to the death of Madam Hemalatha was dealt through her elder brother, Mr Kalai Selvan Kasippillai.

"In fact, the ministry did not receive any inquiry from Mrs Ratna Raja Kasippillai," it said in response to Ratna Raja's letter published by the New Straits Times on Wednesday.
The ministry added that the failure of Hemalatha to register her presence in Mumbai with the Malaysian Consulate General there had marred the search effort since the ministry had no clue of her whereabouts until her colleagues informed the consulate that she had a telephone conversation with them from the hotel room. This was a positive lead to tracing her in the hotel.

Ratna Raja, in her letter, claimed, among other things, that Wisma Putra did not make any attempt to communicate with any family member regarding the progress or developments in the wake of the tragedy, or assist them in bringing back the body.

She said all communication was initiated by Hema-latha's relatives, who left her contact number with the Consul-General in Mumbai as well as his personal assistant. -- Bernama


Mumbai terror: Hema’s life revolved around her children