A MOTHER in Malaysia greeted her dead son. People in Manila left roses for the victim who helped give them homes. And mourners in Tokyo stood before a piece of steel from Ground Zero, remembering the 23 bank employees who never made it out alive.

    From Sydney to Paris, formal ceremonies paid tribute to the nearly 3,000 who perished from more than 90 countries. And, in a reminder that threats remain, Swedish police said four people were arrested yesterday on suspicion of preparing a terror attack as authorities in Washington and New York beefed up security in response to intelligence about possible plans for a car bomb attack.

    For some people, the pain never stops. Pathmawathy Navaratnam woke up yesterday in her suburban Kuala Lumpur home and did what she’s done every day for the past decade: wish her son “Good morning.” Vijayashanker Paramsothy, a 23-year-old finance analyst, was killed in the attacks on New York.

    In Manila, dozens of former shanty dwellers offered roses, balloons and prayers for another 9/11 victim, American citizen Marie Rose Abad. The neighborhood used to be a shantytown that reeked of garbage. But in 2004, Abad’s Filipino-American husband Rudy built 50 brightly colored homes, fulfilling his late wife’s wish to help impoverished Filipinos.

    The village has since been named after her.

    Among the Sept. 11 victims was Indian Jupiter Yambem, who was manager at the “Roof of the World” restaurant in the World Trade Center.

    About 100 family members and close friends gathered at his ancestral home in Manipur for prayers yesterday.

    In Japan, families gathered in Tokyo to pay their respects to the 23 Fuji Bank employees who never made it out of their World Trade Center office. A dozen of the workers who died were Japanese.

    South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak sent a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama, conveying his “deepest condolences” to the victims. (SD-Agencies)