Lawyer Haniff Khatri says decades of legal notes and 28 years of memories lost in Country Homes house fire

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 — Three decades of handwritten journals, irreplaceable legal notes, and 28 years of family memories were reduced to ash early today after a devastating fire gutted the home of prominent lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla in Bandar Country Homes.

The blaze, which broke out around 3am, completely consumed the upper floor of the residence, incinerating beds, clothing, home appliances, and personal archives that Haniff had accumulated over more than 30 years of legal practice, NST reported.

Among the charred debris lay fragments of book pages and ruined family mementos. His son, Mohamed Hamzah Khatri Mohamed Haniff, sifted through the wreckage to find a handheld gaming console on his bedroom floor, one of the few items to survive the flames.

“My graduation photos were in my room when the fire happened,” Hamzah said, hoping his university portraits might still somehow be salvaged.

The family was also left searching for their pets, with two recently adopted kittens believed to have been inside his sister’s room when the fire erupted, leaving behind only an empty carrier and a packet of cat food near the entrance.

Haniff had lived in the residence with his family since 1998, raising his children under its roof for nearly three decades.

“So we have stayed here for 28 years. My daughter, the eldest one, was two and a half years old when we moved here,” he said.

The incident unfolded while Haniff was downstairs watching a football match. His daughter discovered the fire in the first-floor living room after stepping out of her bedroom for a drink of water and screamed for help.

Haniff grabbed half a pail of water and raced upstairs to battle the flames, but was rapidly forced back by the blinding smoke and blistering heat.

“The fumes were already in my mouth, were already in my throat.

“It was so hot, I felt a bit of a burn,” he said.

The family of four fled into the street as household items exploded and glass windows shattered around them. Firefighters arrived within 10 minutes to bring the blaze under control and treated Haniff for a minor burn sustained during the escape.

“They (the Fire and Rescue Department) came with their own first-aid kit. When I realised there was a bit of burn… they helped me,” he said.

Despite the near-total destruction of their possessions, father and son chose gratitude over despair.

“At least everyone is safe. That’s the most important thing.

“These items, it’s all secondary. Life is more important,” Hamzah said.

Haniff affirmed that the family has embraced spiritual acceptance: “As Muslims, we have to redha.”