KUALA LUMPUR, June 21, 2015:
What was supposed to be a joyful Father’s Day celebration has turned into tragedy for the Muthu family in Taman Sri Serdang in Seri Kembangan here.
The five children, two sons and three daughters, together with seven grandchildren had booked a hotel in Putrajaya to have hi-tea and a wonderful Father’s Day today.

But fate had something different to offer them. Instead of food, good cheer and celebrations, there were tears aplenty as the whole family gathered to bid farewell to building contractor L. Muthu, 63, and his wife, S. Duggamah, 58.

The couple, together with another motorist, were killed and five others injured in a road crash involving five vehicles on the Bukit Putus bridge at Km15 Jalan Seremban-Kuala Pilah near Seremban on Friday night about 10pm.

At that time, Muthu was driving his Mercedes Benz and was returning home to Taman Sri Serdang after attending a relative’s wedding and visiting his brother in Bahau.

His eldest daughter, Laksmi Muthu, 41, an international school teacher, said she and her siblings had been looking forward to the Father’s Day celebration.

“To lose one parent is terrible, but to lose both on the same day … This should never happen to any daughter. The loss is too much for us to bear.

“My father was the pillar of the family. Although we are all grown up, we used to seek out his advice for everything. Now he is gone and he has left us without guidance.

“He had a lot of worldly advice and wisdom to impart to us. Many of his friends and colleagues would also seek his guidance and our house always had visitors.

“My mother, whom my father fondly called Usha, would always cook for all the visitors and make them feel at home.

“The grandkids adored them as they were so loving.”

Laksmi said many of her father’s former workers had branched out on their own.

“My father would never get angry with them for leaving his service. Instead, he would encourage them and even offer financial assistance and business contacts for them to be successful.

“He was a motivational speaker and would advise us not to waste our money on unnecessary luxuries. He told us all must study hard to come up in life.”

Laksmi said her father was 21 and mother only 16 when they got married and arrived in the city from Bahau looking for a job with only $20 and a mat.
He got a job as an office boy at the then Universiti Pertanian Malaysia and used to do odd jobs painting and repairing houses for lecturers.
Later, he resigned his job to go full-time into construction.

Laksmi said her father used to donate a lot to temples and Tamil schools. He had a particular interest in writing in Tamil and had written plenty of short stories, some of which won him prizes at the national level. He also wrote a Tamil novel.
She said her father celebrated his last birthday on May 13, giving food to an orphanage in Kajang and inviting all his old school friends for a special treat at a Chinese restaurant.

“My parents were inseparable and would go out together for functions. Now they are joined together in the hereafter as they were in life.”

The funeral service for the couple will be held at their home at 1856, Jalan 18/42, Taman Seri Serdang, Seri Kembagan from 11am to 2pm today, before proceeding for cremation at the Putrajaya crematorium.

http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/20...-muthu-family/