Al Fatihah

The great A. Samad Ismail is no more.

Just before iftar this evening, I received SMS messages from his daughter Maria a.k.a. Tok Mommy and also from his nephew, fellow mariner Capt. Kamal Kamarudin, that he has passed away at the Pantai Medical Centre. The funeral will be at the Bukit Kiara Muslim cemetery after Friday prayers tomorrow.

One of the last few surviving national freedom fighters, Pak Samad as he was fondly known has been ill for some time. The first and the last time I met him was when I was invited to his 83rd birthday dinner by his other daughter, fellow blogger Nuraina, a few months ago. He was already bedridden then but when he found out that I was a seaman, he wanted to hear more about my sailing days, so I jokingly asked him,"How much time have you got?". And he laughed.

May Allah bless his soul. Al fatihah.