A MAN'S dream of watching his son grow up and become the "Malaysian Messi" was shattered when the teenager died in a car accident on Friday.
Superbikes Association Malaysia (SAM) secretary-general Sulaiman Samia'an said his 17-year-old son, Muhammad Azeem Suhaimi, had dreamed of becoming as good as his favourite footballer, Barcelona striker Lionel Messi.
"He represented Malaysia when he was 13 in the Yamaha Asean Cup in Vietnam.
"He wanted to try out for the Selangor team selection this year and he was chosen for the Sime Darby team this year.
"He was a very good athlete, participating in other sporting activities as well, but football was his favourite. Even his friends used to call him Messi," he said yesterday.
Azeem Suhaimi had won numerous trophies and awards for his school as well as for the state, representing various institutions and clubs in football.
He was affectionately called Amy by his family members.
Azeem Suhaimi had finished his Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia a day before the accident.
The second sibling in a family of four, he had always been responsible and was close to his elder sister and younger sister and brother, said Sulaiman, 43.
"I normally return home late, but on Friday I came home early to find Amy and my wife surfing the Internet and planning their trip to climb Mount Kinabalu.
"Later, none of us realised that Amy had left the house in the evening for football practice. It came as a surprise because normally he would inform us before going anywhere."
Sulaiman said he only realised his son had gone out when the police arrived at 8pm to tell him about the accident.
Azeem Suhaimi's body was buried in Sungai Merap, near here, yesterday morning, attended by friends, family and teachers.
Messages of love, loss and sympathy poured in on Azeem Suhaimi's Facebook page, which Sulaiman said helped the family to truly see their son through the eyes of his friends and teachers.
"We've always known that he was a kind-hearted boy, but to see his friends and even his teachersshare their thoughts on him made us realise how truly special he was."
The accident happened about 5pm on Friday when the car Azeem Suhaimi was driving skidded in pouring rain and crashed into a pole in Persiaran Timur here.
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