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I note with deep sadness that a fellow "dreamer" and "idealist" has passed on. It is as if a part of me has also died.

I do not know Abdul Razak Ahmad personally, but what I do know is that this self-styled "maverick lawyer" lived his dreams and ideals till the mortal end.

In the political context, "he has fought A good fight; he has run HIS race; and, he has kept THE faith."

As we individually pray in our own way for the eternal repose of Abdul Razak Ahmad's soul, let us remember also that whatsoever he might have done - and we are not accepting the veracity of the charges laid against him as solid and concrete since he was never given a chance to defend himself at all - let our memory of his sacrifice strengthen our resolve to value and celebrate the lives of others with whom we come in contact.

May the Almighty grant this unsung Malaysian patriot eternal rest.

Stephen Tan Ban Cheng

From Allah we come and to Allah is our return.

I would like to thank the MBW for his dedication to his job and for informing us of this sad event so quickly after it happened.

Yeo Yang Poh is absolutely spot on in his assessment of Razak.

In 1966 I was in my 2nd year law at the University of Singapore. I was with others in my class waiting for a lecture to begin in NLT 1. It was election time for USSU. So, we were not too surprised when a few election candidates came into the lecture hall to canvass for votes. Among them was Chan Kean Hin, 3rd Year Law, Gurdial Singh Nijar, 2nd Year Law, Peter Yip, then an Economics student, and Abdul Razak Ahmad, Final Year Law.

Now, in those days the SU Law Faculty had a fearsome slaughter rate in its various exams. Razak was one of those rare birds, a student from "The Federation" as up-country Malayans were then known, and he was in the Final Year Law without having had to repeat any year!

So, while we could understand people like Nijar or Kean Hin standing for the Students Union no way could we see Razak risking his Finals for the sake of serving his fellow students! We put it to him, we brave 2nd years taking on a lofty Final Year student, "Aaaiy Razak, come onlah, you not going to sacrifice your Final Year for the Union, what?" (As you can see we hardly spoke the English of Lee Kuan Yew!) And Razak silenced us by saying, "Yes, I am prepared to sacrifice my Final Year if that is what is needed to serve you properly!"

And so we voted them in......Nijar, Kean Hin, Peter and Razak.

And that year, D.P Vijendran, big gun in the Union, had returned from a State Department sponsored stay in the USA and he came back full of enthusiasm over the US Civil Rights Movement and Martin Luther King and, yes, "WE Shall Overcome!" DP introduced that song to the Union and he persuaded the Union to go on a campaign to restore University Autonomy. So, persuaded by DP's practised advocacy the students marched around the Bukit Timah campus singing, "We shall overcome!" and then went back to their books convinced that they had done enough.

But according to the Singapore Government authorities Peter, Nijar, Kean Hin and Razak had gone on to stir the Nanyang students and others and there was a massive protest outside City Hall where Kuan Yew's office was with students demanding autonomy.

The Singapore Govt's re-action was dramatic and drastic; Kean Hin, Razak, Nijar and Peter were banished from Singapore. All of them were academically quite bright. And what a sacrifice! Shortly thereafter the Home Affairs Ministry in Singapore discovered that Chan Kean Hin, unlike the other 3, was a Singapore citizen and so his banishment was revoked. He went on to pass all his exams and get called to the Singapore Bar only to die tragically in Malaysia when the helicopter he was in crashed returning from Genting.

Peter and Nijar were not allowed back to sit for their exams. They then went to London and qualified at the English Bar.

Razak was not allowed back for his Final Year lectures. But he was allowed in to sit for his Finals. He had studied on his own. And he passed.

And never in the 41 years since did I hear Razak or Peter or Nijar say one word against anyone who had not stood by them in their hour of need.

And never did Razak flinch from his chosen mission of standing up for the poor, the oppressed and the voiceless in society. So many times he could have taken the easy road and given up the struggle. But he was always true to his conscience right till the end. And he never told you about his sufferings. He never hinted at the sacrifices he had made for what he thought to be right.

I could have written all this while he was alive in reply to the Bar Website interview with him. But I knew that his innate modesty would have flinched at all I have to say.

And now he has gone and I can say it. Farewell, my friend. I salute you and your sacrifices. Yes, you have shown a batch of 2nd year kids you meant every word you said about sacrifice. And you showed it every day of your life after that! Forgive us. Thank you, Razak, Allah bika.

Haji Sulaiman Abdullah

Sad day for the Bar.

Richard Wee Thiam Seng

Innalillah wa inna illaihi rojiun... From God we come, to God we return...

Takziah kepada keluarga allahyarham.

Nik Elin Nik Abdul Rashid

May his soul rest in peace

My deepest condolences to his family

Dipendra Harshad Rai

I have written before about my old headmaster's words given to me in the 1960s - "A good thing has its number of days, but a good name will last forever".

This applies to both judges and lawyers, and the Malaysian Bar will always be the first and quick to honour one who has stayed steadfast to his calling.

The Malaysian Bar today proudly honours Abdul Razak Ahmad for championing the interests and causes of the poor, weak and oppressed. One such case was Tan Sri Othman Saat in 1982 when the fearless Razak Ahmad represented a group of villagers whose applications for lands were hijacked by the then Johor Chief Minister. That case went all the way to the Privy Council.

I first met Razak Ahmad when I moved down to JB in the early 90s. A formidable opponent to me as he took the Johor State Government and the Johor Baru City Council to court over the now abandoned JB Waterfront City, I found him to be humble and an urbane gentleman both within and without the courts.

Razak Ahmad has now left behind a good name and many examples of a great lawyer, politician, person and activist for many of us to emulate.

May your soul rest in peace, Abang - whom I had always fondly called as my elder brother at law.

Roger Tan

My condolences to Auntie Kintan, Icheng and the rest of Allahyarham's family.

Al-fatihah. May his soul rest in piece.

Noreen Ahmad Ariff

Alfatiha to the late Abdul Razak Ahmad. Ameen!

Dato' Abdul Raman Saad

Truly a man we can ALL emulate.

Jannatul Firdaus Insya-Allah (Highest Paradise, God Willing) . Al-Fatihah (Verse of The Opener).

Justin Johari Bin Azman

Al-Fatihah....semoga Allah SWT mencucuri rahmatNya keatas roh Allahyarham SWT.

It is the passing of a man...who remained a man sticking to his beliefs and principles.

I'm remotely acquainted to Allahyarham through his 'comrade' in Penang, who also happen to be a very senior lawyer and a close relative of mine. They both belong to a breed whom would readily stick their necks out for what they belief.

I think people of this nature are becoming scare in this age.

Abdul Fareed Bin Abdul Gafoor

I must confess that I had no idea who Abdul Razak Ahmad was until June 2007. I was in Johor Baharu attending a Human Rights training programme conducted by the Johor Bar. Razak Ahmad had been invited to give a short talk on his experiences as an advocate of human rights after lunch.

In that brief half hour, I had a glimpse of the spirit and dedication of a man who could lie across a railway track as sign of protest for a cause he believed in. At the same time, however, what I remember most was thinking what a humble unassuming chap he was and what a good lawyer he must have been.

During his talk, he pointed out that the Government released him from his detention under the ISA on the eve of Awal Muharram. His release was conditional and he was subjected to restricted residence and a curfew. En Razak was once arrested for being in a coffeeshop at 10 pm (2 hours after his 8 pm curfew). He successfully defended himself on the basis that the Government had not interviewed him prior to extending the restriction order, which was a requirement of the law. This anecdote emphasises the valuable lesson that more human rights litigation is won on technical points rather than on high flown exhortations to international human rights norms.

I was meant to report the training session for this Website but never got around to it. At that time, I recorded the following wise words by Razak Ahmad. After pointing out that cases against the Government was not "anti government" but merely upholding the rule of law, he said "I would urge young lawyer to come forward together with senior lawyers whenever you see abuses, and take it up. I am very glad that we now have a human rights committee, and that there are quite a number of lawyers from North to the South who are helping the poor and the orang asli."

My condolences to all his loved ones. He is certainly now at peace.

Shanmuga Kanesalingam

I must say that it was an honour to have known Encik Abdul Razak whilst preparing for the interview, even though it was for a brief time. I realise now that it was a gem of a opportunity to have been able to speak to him a few short months before he passed away.

His memory will live on in future interviews as we remember him as the inaugural interviewee for our Tete-a-Tete Column.

We should all learn from Encik Razak's example; as a lawyer, as a mentor, as simply a human being.

Angeline Cheah Yin Leng

23th June 2007 was indeed a momentous day for yours truly. For many others it was just another Saturday. As for myself, it was a day to be remembered. It was the first time that I had the privilege of meeting the late En Razak Ahmad (little that I know back then, that was going to be the last time as well). On that day, En Razak was invited by the Bar Council Human Rights Committee to give a talk at the Human Rights Training in Johor Bahru, which was organized by the said Committee together with the Johor Bar Committee.

I was indeed fortunate to be there. En Razak shared his life story as well as his experiences in representing the downtrodden and marginalized. I was amazed by the man upon listening to his wonderful life experiences. I was even more fortunate as I subsequently had the opportunity to speak with him in private. That brief encounter had transformed my perception towards life, the value of life and the actual notion of human rights. More often than not, we tend to stress more on the laws and the legal instruments of human rights when we are talking about human rights but En Razak was able to make me realise that there is no point of talking about the 'rights' if we first cannot appreciate humanity itself. Our system has conditioned the society to profile or classify the people around us according to their class, status, social standing, race etc. Rarely do we look at the other person as another fellow human being.

I hasten to add that during the time when I met En Razak as well, I was at the lowest ebb of my life; feeling jaded with my life and practice. But every now and then when I remember that little moment that I had with En Razak, it inspires me to keep on going and fighting for the poor and the underprivileged. It has also made me realised that we should not take life, the loved ones and everything around us for granted. We must appreciate the core values that make us human and the need to assist one another.

The late En Razak was a simple, modest and humble man. He was a man with principles. It is not easy for anyone of us to fill his shoes or to walk along the path that he paved. Nevertheless, I will strive to emulate and follow the legacy that he left behind. He is now gone and has left us all for a better place, a place where there is no injustice or prejudice. He has made an impact on my life and I believe on many others' lives as well. He will be missed.

Amer Hamzah Arshad

12/08/2007 was a sad day to me. I was having my lunch when i received a call from an ex-colleague regarding the bad news. I rushed to your house, managed to see you for one last time.

Thanks, Encik Razak, thanks for never gave up on me when I was under your pupillage, thanks for being such a great master.... thanks for everything.....

I will always remember what you have taught me.....

May your soul rest in peace.

Salute to you.

Lim Gek Hui