ALOR SETAR: Experienced coach Mohd Azraai Khor Abdullah, who died this afternoon, had reminded his family not to accept any titles given to him after his death.
His wife, Rohani Ibrahim (pix), 64, said that apart from constantly reminding them about it, he never showed any other changes over the past few days.
“If anyone wants to give me the title of ‘Datuk’ or anything, please don’t accept. That was his reminder to me over and over,” she said when met by reporters at a private hospital here today.
Mohd Azraai, 71, was confirmed to have died after suffering a stroke at a hospital in Kedah today.
Rohani said her husband had been unwell over the past four days as he was suffering from constipation, resulting in him feeling bloated and having abdominal pain.
“I took him to the clinic and the doctor said that his blood pressure was quite high, probably due to a lack of sleep, and the doctor prescribed some medicines.
“Usually, after taking his medication, he would feel better, but not this time. He seemed tired and spent a lot of time lying down. This morning, after preparing his breakfast and giving him his medicines, I went out to look for papaya, but when I fed him the fruit, he threw up, even the water I fed him would trickle out of his mouth,” she said.
Worried about his condition, Rohani asked their daughter to call the ambulance and it was while he was in the ambulance that he suffered a stroke.
“The doctors tried to save him but he was already in a critical condition and they told us to be prepared. The doctors took a long time trying to save him before finally informing us that he had passed away.
“Although shocked, my family and I have accepted it as Allah’s decision. He was a good man, he died in a good month. But I’m sad that his wish to send our 20-year-old daughter to further her studies at Universiti Teknologi MARA Segamat in March did not come true,” she said.
Meanwhile, Rohani described her husband’s passing as a big loss to the football arena in the country.
“He was proud to be a true-blue Kedahan and his interest in football never wavered. Many respected him as he was never arrogant. Although retired, he continued to contribute ideas and share experiences with everyone,” she said.
Mohd Azraai, whose birth name is Khor Sek Leng, played for the Kedah team in the 1970s and donned national colours from 1975 to 1978.
As a coach, he led Kedah to the double treble in 2007 and 2008. He also coached Negeri Sembilan and Perak and was the head coach of the Harimau Muda squad in 2010. -Bernama
