MIRI, April 26 ― The Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia in Kuching, Raden Sigit Witjaksono will be visiting the family of the late Lina Samuel in Lawas today (April 26).
According to Alexandri Legawa, a consular affairs officer at the Indonesian Consulate in Kuching, Raden Sigit would be flying to Kota Kinabalu today and then depart for Lawas via land.
Alexandri said he would be accompanying Raden for the visit.
“Initially, the consul general was planning to visit Lina in Lawas to hand over some financial assistance for her medical expenses.
“We actually planned to visit her after Hari Raya Aidilfitri, but unfortunately we received news today that she has passed away. We will still be going to Lawas to meet her family to hand over some assistance,” said Alexandri in a message via WhatsApp to The Borneo Post yesterday.
Lina, 65, caught the attention of the Indonesian consulate when her story made headlines in the news last month, after she alleged that the National Registration Department (JPN) in Lawas had confiscated her MyKad in November last year.
Three months later, in February, she was diagnosed with colon cancer which forced her to be referred to a specialist at Miri Hospital.
Lina was worried that she would not be allowed to travel as she had been stripped of her MyKad.
After her story made rounds on social media, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution said that Lina was stripped of her MyKad because JPN discovered she was an Indonesian citizen.
The minister later called for a thorough investigation into Lina’s case, which prompted a few JPN officers from Kuching to fly to Lawas to meet Lina on April 13.
The same day after their meeting, Lina was issued with a temporary document to allow her to travel for her follow-up at Miri Hospital on April 17.
She passed away at Lawas Hospital about 7am yesterday. ― Borneo Post
