SUNGAI PETANI: There is nothing more important for Muhammad Amirul Ikhwan, 17, than working hard and pass his Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination next March with flying colours.
All that he wanted was to make his parents proud and to set a good example for his three younger siblings.
However, things took an abrupt turn when his parents, Muhammad Ridzwan Salleh, 42, and Rosmawati Ismail, 39, were killed in a crash at Km87 of the Plus Expressway near Gurun on Thursday evening.
The tragedy left Amirul and his siblings Muhammad Alif Irfan, 15; Nurin Alya Iwanie, 12; and Muhammad Ridz Danial, five, orphaned.
"I will have to be strong for my siblings. I will focus on preparing for my SPM examinations while looking after my siblings, especially Danial.
"My siblings will stay with me. I will look after them with the help of our relatives," Amirul said when met at the Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital (HSAH) mortuary where a medical examiner is carrying out a post-mortem examination on his parents' remains.
In the 2pm incident, Ridzwan, a soldier with the rank of corporal attached to the Hobart Camp in Jeniang, was riding his Benelli TNT 600cc machine to visit Rosmawati's mother Jamaliah Saad, 60, who was undergoing dialysis treatment at HSAH.
Ridzwan lost the control of his motorcycle and crashed into the rear of an army truck.
The machine caught fire in the crash and the couple crashed into the truck's cargo bay.
Ridzwan, who also suffered burns, died on the spot. Rosmawati died two hours later at HSAH.
Amirul, a student of SMK Batu 5, Jeniang, was attending additional classes in school when he was told of the tragedy.
"My mother always reminded me not to skip my prayers and to look after my siblings if anything happened to her.
"It never crossed my mind that both of my parents would gone forever an in instant. I can't find the words to describe how devastated we are.. but I will have to pull myself together for my siblings," he said.
His daunting task now is to calm his siblings, who are still shocked by the sudden passing of their parents.
"Last night Danial was a bit lost by what had just happened. He kept on asking about our parents. It will take a while for him to get used to the situation," he said.
Amirul said his parents were a loving couple who really cared of their children. His father, he said, was an avid superbike enthusiast. He said his mother always accompanied his father on riding trips.
The couple would be laid to rest at the Segantang Garam Muslim Cemetery in Merbok later this evening.