As 20 Singaporeans paid tribute to victims of the Sabah earthquake yesterday morning, family members of two trainers who died did the same on a platform near the Via Ferrata trail, where boulders fell during the disaster.
Trainers Valerian Joannes and Ricky Masirin had been guiding Tanjong Katong Primary School (TKPS) pupils, who were on a school trip, on the trail last year when disaster struck.
To remember them, 12 of the trainers’ family members observed a minute of silence at 7.15am – the same time that Singaporeans at Laban Rata and TKPS did so. That was the moment the earthquake had struck.
The group then said prayers and sang hymns before embarking on the Via Ferrata trail themselves.
Spraining her ankle four days before the family members’ Mount Kinabalu climb did not stop nurse Jessica Veronica Sikta, 26, fiancee of the late Mr Joannes: “To be able to finish the Via Ferrata trail was a new hope for me.”
Mr Joannes had planned to take her on the trail, where he worked, in November last year – it was on his bucket list.
While she could not go there with him, she feels blessed to have completed it with his family. But Ms Sikta believes that Mr Joannes and the other victims would not want their loved ones to wallow in sadness: “Life must go on, with all the memories that they made with us.”
Mr Joannes’ brother Vanleorant, 26, also made the climb last weekend to Laban Rata on Mount Kinabalu, where climbers rest before heading for the summit. He took the trip to remember his brother and the job he did.
For Ms Priscilla Justin, 28, girlfriend of the late Mr Masirin, climbing the mountain and completing the Via Ferrata where disaster struck brought a jumble of feelings: “I felt happy, blessed and sad.”
But she has to “keep moving on”, she said. “He’s already passed away; I can’t see him. What I can give him are only my prayers.”
Said Ms Quek I-Gek, 43, marketing director of Mountain Torq, which manages the Via Ferrata trail: “One year on, we are glad that things are going back to normal.
“The fact that the Singaporean and Sabahan families can get together and do a tribute – it was a very emotional reunion.”
Both sides had climbed Mount Kinabalu on Saturday, and rested at Laban Rata before hitting the summit early this morning.
“It shows everybody that boundaries don’t mean anything, as long as we all have the heart and passion to go for our dreams,” she said.
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They climb mountain in tribute to loved ones
“Ten lives have passed on, but they are still pushing us on,” said Mr John Quok, who was among a team that climbed Mount Kinabalu a year after it was hit by an earthquake that killed 10 Singaporeans. His son Elliot survived the quake.
Mr Quok was among parents, schoolmates and relatives of victims who paid tribute to their loved ones at 7.15am yesterday – the time that the disaster struck.
Eighteen people died, including seven Primary 6 pupils from Tanjong Katong Primary School (TKPS) who had been on a school trip.
Yesterday, the Singaporeans gathered at Pendant Hut in Laban Rata, 3,289m above sea level on Mount Kinabalu, where they stayed.
They lit candles and laid painted pebbles on a table before observing a moment of silence for the victims.
A number from the group were going to make the ascent to Mount Kinabalu’s summit around 1.20am today – the time most set out to be able to catch the sunrise. Some parents will also attempt the Via Ferrata trail, where some from the trip last year had lost their lives.
Clasping hands with her family members, Mrs Karen Jhala, 49, closed her eyes and cried. She had lost her daughter Sonia during the disaster.
Other parents struggled to hold back, but the tears fell anyway, when the group took turns reading messages from friends and family of those who died.
Ms Mimi Engstrom, 49, mother of survivor Tristan, read out a message from the family of victim Ameer Ryyan Mohd Adeed Sanjay.
“The precious, wonderful memories are what will get mummy and daddy through these difficult months since you left us to a better place,” she read tearfully. “We hold on tight to the memories, from the time you were our firstborn to the last hugs and kisses the night before you left for the fateful adventure.”
Sonia’s brother Dillen Jhala, 16, told the room: “Whether you’re going to climb up to the summit tomorrow, what matters is bringing yourself to go on this expedition – it brings you one giant leap closer to those that have passed.”
Mr Quok said during the tribute: “I am humbled by the people who climbed for those who have passed away.”
He added that the children, including survivors Elliot and Chantal, completed the climb to Laban Rata in 61/2 hours, ahead of the adults. “They will bounce back – they are very resilient. And never underestimate their potential.
” I think as parents, we have to let them grow up, and let them reach their best potential,” added the 45-year-old, who works in private equity investments.
The team had split up into smaller groups for the ascent and the last of them arrived at Laban Rata around 12.20am yesterday, completing the final leg in darkness.
For them, it was a 15-hour trek.
“There were several times I just really wanted to give up,” said Ms Karishma Jhala, 19, Sonia’s sister, who was in the last group to reach Laban Rata. She added that her climb helped her to develop a newfound respect for all the pupils who made the climb last year.
After the tribute, survivor Chantal Phuay, who last year said she wanted to return to Mount Kinabalu and has now achieved her goal, presented a token to Mountain Torq trainer Hajiris Sulomin, 41, who saved her during the incident.
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Tears and hugs at school’s memorial
At 7.15am yesterday – exactly a year after an earthquake shook Mount Kinabalu and hurtled rocks on an expedition from Tanjong Katong Primary School (TKPS) – about 50 people, from schoolmates to family members of the victims and survivors, observed a minute of silence at the school in Seraya Road.
Some wept openly while others exchanged hugs at the closed-door memorial ceremony, which lasted under 10 minutes, in the school hall.
After that, the families and schoolmates proceeded to the art room, where some of them painted on pebbles condolence notes on those who had died.
After the remembrance event, TKPS principal Caroline Wu said, while holding back tears, that it had been “a very emotional morning”.
“While the surviving students have progressed on to their respective secondary schools, this being the first anniversary, it is understandable that emotions ran high.
“We are very appreciative of the support, care, concern and generosity shown by the public during the past year,” she said.
On June 5 last year, a group of 29 Primary 6 pupils and eight teachers from TKPS were on an expedition to the picturesque Mount Kinabalu, a popular tourist destination, when a 5.9-magnitude quake caused landslides and huge boulders – some the size of houses – to tumble down.
Ten Singaporeans were among those killed – seven pupils and two teachers from TKPS, as well as a Singapore adventure guide accompanying the group.
Victoria School student Tristan So Kwan Wing, 13, a former TKPS pupil who went on the trip last year, said: “For some of us, there are flashbacks of what happened that day. But we are all moving on.”
Emyr Uzayr, 13, who suffered a fractured skull, among other injuries, during the trip said the mood during the memorial was solemn.
“It was emotional, and some people were crying,” said the Tanjong Katong Secondary School student.
Amal Ashley Lim, 13, who also went on the expedition, said she recalled the last moments with her friends. “I remembered how everything happened and how I lost my friends,” said the netballer at St Hilda’s Secondary School.
After the event, a group of parents and children headed to the Singapore University of Technology and Design, where some played in a football tournament in memory of Ameer Ryyan Mohd Adeed Sanjay, a football player and TKPS pupil who died in last year’s quake.
The tournament was organised by F-17 Football Academy, which Ameer was part of, to celebrate his life. About 60 people took part, including Ameer’s schoolmates, teammates and even neighbours.
The academy’s director Nabil Yusoff, 31, said Ameer, who played as a winger, “was smaller in build than other players, but he was a fighter”.
For the first time, TKPS pupils in the school’s annual leadership programme, the Omega Challenge, did not scale Mount Kinabalu but went for a three-day programme here last month.
In a Facebook post yesterday, Acting Education Minister (Schools) Ng Chee Meng said that while the heartache remains for many, he was glad to see the 22 surviving pupils go on to the next education stage and the six teachers continuing to teach.
This article was first published on June 6, 2016.
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