©New Straits Times (Used by permission)
Puan Sri Roziah Sheikh Mohamed sprinkling flowers on the grave of her
husband, the late Appeals Court President Tan Sri Abdul Malek Ahmad, at the
Putrajaya Muslim cemetery yesterday. Behind her are the couple’s five daughters.
KAJANG: Some of the country’s best–known legal brains turned up to pay their last respects to the late Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Abdul Malek Ahmad who was laid to rest yesterday.
He was buried at the Putrajaya Muslim Cemetery after Friday
prayers.
Malek, 62, died of a brain tumour, at 11pm on Thursday.
His wife, Puan Sri Roziah Sheikh Mohamed, and their six children, aged between 7
and 25, were by his side at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital when he died.
His body was brought to his home here where hundreds of family members, friends,
lawyers and judges came to pay their last respects.
Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak arrived about 11am with Raja Permaisuri of Perak,
Tuanku Bainun.
Others who paid their last respects included former Lord President Tun Abdul
Hamid Omar, former Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Siti Norma Yaacob,
Attorney–General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak
Datuk Richard Malanjum, Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim and
Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad.
Hamid described Malek’s death as a loss to the country.
"He was a very intelligent man and he didn’t take much time to make his
judgments," he said.
Federal Court Judge Datuk S. Augustine Paul said Malek possessed all the
characteristics that every good judge should have.
"He was a nice person. He will be difficult to replace," he added.
Roziah said her husband "went away peacefully and quickly".
"He didn’t suffer. Much of the time he was drowsy, but he was not in pain. And
he never took painkillers right up to the end."
Roziah, who was calm and composed, said she considered herself lucky to have
shared a life with him for 26 years.
"He always said the children were his greatest possessions. He would say he got
the good things late in life, because he married late."
Malek was diagnosed as having a brain tumour in 2005 and had an operation that
year to remove it. It returned in July last year.
He was hospitalised in KLH, where he remained for more than 10 months up to his
death.
Malek, who entered the judicial and legal service in 1966, was a Court of Appeal
judge before being a Federal Court judge from 1999 to 2004. He became the Court
of Appeal president in July 2004.