MUHD NAZRI'S RETURN DELAYED, PASSPORT SEIZED BY PIRATES

KOTA BAHARU (Malaysia), Sept 30 (Bernama) -- "My son cannot come back (home) yet because he does not have a passport to board the plane," says Khadijah Yusoff, the mother of Muhd Nazri Mat Salleh, 22, one of the hostages who were held by pirates at the Gulf of Aden last month.

Khadijah said she had been informed by the Malaysian International
Shipping Corporation (MISC) Bhd that her son would return home soon, but it had
been delayed due to the problem.

Muhd Nazri's passport is believed to have been taken away by the
pirates.

"They (MISC) are now waiting to get back the passport for him to fly
home,"she said in an interview here Tuesday.

Muhd Nazri was among the 41 crew on board MISC's MT Bunga Melati 5 which
was hijacked by pirates in the Gulf of Aden on Aug 29. They were released a few
days ago.

Khadijah said her family had been preparing to welcome home Muhd
Nazri, who
is her sixth child, since informed of his release, and was disappointed when
informed that his return would be delayed.

She said the family would hold a thanksgiving feast when Muhd Nazri
returned.

-- BERNAMA