SM Lee pays respects at funeral of former Malaysian PM Abdullah

KUALA LUMPUR - Former Malaysian prime minister Abdullah Badawi was laid to rest at Makam Pahlawan (Heroes’ Mausoleum) on April 15, after thousands of mourners earlier descended on the National Mosque to pay their last respects.

Among the dignitaries present were Singapore’s Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Mrs Lee, and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his Cabinet ministers, along with former premiers Mahathir Mohamad, Najib Razak, Muhyiddin Yassin and Ismail Sabri Yaakob, also paid their respects.

The ruler of Terengganu, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, arrived just before noon to pay his respects. Sultan Mizan had served as the 13th Malaysian King during Tun Abdullah’s tenure as prime minister.

Mr Abdullah was the fifth Malaysian national leader to be interred at the mausoleum in Kuala Lumpur. Other leaders buried there were former premiers Abdul Razak Hussein and Hussein Onn, as well as former deputy prime ministers Ismail Abdul Rahman and Abdul Ghafar Baba.

Mr Abdullah, 85, died on April 14 at around 7.10pm at the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur. He had suffered from dementia in the last few years.

Fondly known as “Pak Lah”, he was Malaysia’s fifth prime minister from October 2003 to April 2009, a period that overlapped most with SM Lee’s tenure as Singapore’s prime minister.

SM Lee said in his Facebook post on April 15 that he knew Pak Lah before they became prime ministers of Singapore and Malaysia, respectively.

“He served his country with great dedication, working tirelessly to tackle Malaysia’s challenges and uplift the lives of Malaysians,” said SM Lee.

“It was a great privilege for me to have known Pak Lah, and shared many warm conversations with him over