KOTA KINABALU: Before he left for work yesterday, Wahid Maulan had promised his daughters that he would give them pocket money when he came home.
Little did he know that it would be the last time he would see them alive.
The girls, Siti Faridah Wahid, 3, and her sister Almidah, 14, both died when a fire consumed their house and three others at Jalan Lembaga Padi, Likas, here this afternoon.
Wahid, 44, is now living with regret that he willl not be able to keep his promise to them.
He said he had kissed both of them before leaving for his construction job in Kota Belud.
He said he had promised the girls he would give them pocket money when he got home.
"I had asked both of them to pray for my work to go smoothly so I could give them more pocket money.
"I never expected they would leave us so soon," he said when met at the scene.
He said he was in Kota Belud when he was told of the tragedy and rushed home.
Wahid rushed to the scene, only to find that both his daughters were dead.
"Although this is a very difficult test, it is God's will, and I accept it," he said.
The fire, which began at 12.30pm, saw four houses destroyed.
The charred remains of five people including an infant, children, and a teenager, were found in the bathroom of one of the burnt houses.
Apart from Siti Faridah and Almidah, also dead were siblings Raina Adrian, 1, Raida, 3, and Raisa, 4, who were from a neighbouring family,.