ALOR STAR: Muhammad Danish Hakim Muhammad Zahir, 18, who collapsed and died at Stadium Darul Aman here, had harboured dreams of becoming a football player.
However, as he was born with a serious heart defect, he had to forgo his dream.
"He once said if he wasn't unwell, he would have played football. He said he would have given his all for the game.
"That's why he even scolded his younger brother for not taking things seriously despite being with the Kenari Kid team," said his mother, Normiza Md Noor, 43, at the family home in Taman Senjaya here today.
Danish reportedly collapsed after suffering a seizure in Stadium Darul Aman at 7pm yesterday while watching a football match. He was pronounced dead after being admitted to Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital (HSB).
Normiza said Danish was a hardcore fan of football, with his favourite teams being Kedah Darul Aman (KDA FC) and Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT FC).
And one of his wishes before his death was to watch the FA Cup semi-final match between KDA FC and JDT FC in Stadium Darul Aman.
Normiza said her son had been warded in HSB for about a week in January after coughing blood.
"The doctor told us that Danish's condition was getting serious and advised us to brace for any eventuality. We were also advised to render the best care and fulfil all his wishes.
"That's why I allowed him to go when he sought my permission to watch the match with his younger brother, Muhammad Farish Zakuan,15, and his friend," she said.
Normiza added that she was shocked after receiving a phone call informing her that her son had died.
"However, we accept Danish's passing as God's will, and our consolation is that we have given our best to fulfil all his wishes."
She also said she did not expect the joke that Danish told his elder sister, Nur Nafisa, of him dying on Friday would become reality.
"He told this to Nur Nafisa several days ago and even joked that he might not be alive by next year."
Despite his ailment, Normiza said Danish, a Special Education Integration Programme student at SMK Alor Merah here, was a jovial teenager who loved to crack jokes.
"At one point, he told his teacher that if he died, all the teachers would miss him.
"I was informed that he once told his teacher that news of his death would go viral, and when the teacher asked him why, he just laughed out," she said.
Kota Setar police chief Assistant Commissioner Noor Salawati Saad was quoted as saying that the hospital's medical team had confirmed that the cause of death was due to complex cyanotic heart disease.