Aminul’s pal regrets not able to save him

By Syed Mu’az Syed Putra - The Malaysian Insider

SHAH ALAM, April 29 — The schoolboy with Aminulrasyid Amzah (picture) when he was shot dead by police has sought forgiveness from Aminul’s mother for not being able to help him during the early Monday incident.

“He came to see me and asked me to forgive him for not being able to protect him,” said 60-year-old Norsiah Mohamad.

The minor, who is now a witness in the fatal shooting, fled the scene but came to see Norsiah later the same day.

Norsiah said she could only hug the boy.

She declined to elaborate on what else the boy said, explaining that she didn’t want him to be disturbed since he is the main witness in the case.

But she did disclose that the boy and her son were good friends since primary school.

“Both were active in sports including football and athletics” she told The Malaysian Insider today.

She added that Aminul was also close to the boy’s family.

The witness, however, was from a different school from Aminul.

He was questioned by the police for three hours yesterday over what transpired during the shooting.

Aminul is alleged to have attempted to ram police by reversing his car into them, when cornered after a high-speed chase, and was shot in the head from behind.

At the time, he was driving his eldest sister’s Proton Iswara.

Norsiah said Aminul was a good son and was even willing to give up playing football to concentrate on his studies, when she asked him.

She pointed out that he was supposed to sit for his Peperiksaan Menengah Rendah (PMR) this year and had wanted to score 8As because he didn’t want to disappoint her.

“He wanted to be an astronaut just like Datuk Dr Sheikh Muzaffar Shukor,” she said.

She recalled that before the incident Aminul, the youngest of eight siblings, behaved strangely both at school and at home.

“Last Thursday, his school had a practical lesson on how to bathe a corpse and he volunteered to be the dead body.”

She added that he had said goodbye to all his friends at school before returning.

“At home, he became more affectionate,” Norsiah said.