ALEENA APPEALS TO M'SIAN GOVT TO HELP SECURE RELEASE OF FATHER IN LAOS

PADANG BESAR (Malaysia), March 4 (Bernama) -- On May 10 last year, Omar Atan, 59, left his home here to take up an interpreting job for three days in Laos but till now he is still in that country.

His eldest child, Nur Aleena, 21, said her father had gone to Laos with
friend to be interpreters of the Thai language, which they had done before in
Laos.

Nur Aleena, a housewife, met at her father's residence here, said she was
informed by the Malaysian Embassy in Vientianne that her father had been
detained by Laotian authorities in Savanket.

She said her father's detention was because he was alleged to have abetted
his friend in breaking the laws of the country.

Aleena said her father was then imprisoned at the Phunthong Jail in Laos and
was scheduled to be freed last November.

"We are worried because November has passed and hope the Malaysian
government can help," she said.

Meanwhile, Omar's wife Siti Zaleha Abdullah, 47, said she hoped her husband
would be released without delay.

She said she was getting old and solely depended on her income from selling
nasi lemak to support her family.

-- BERNAMA