KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s passing has left a profound void not only in the nation’s political history but also in the hearts of those who worked closely with him.
For his former press secretaries, the fifth prime minister of Malaysia was more than a boss. He was a gentle father figure whose humility and sincerity shaped their most formative years in public service.
Izad Raya, who served as Abdullah’s press secretary for six years, recalled never once hearing the late leader raise his voice in anger.
“His words were always soft, never hurtful. Even when advising or correcting someone, he did so with such grace that you would never feel small,” he said after attending Tun Abdullah’s state funeral today.
Wan Esuriyanti Wan Ahmad, another former aide, said she was flooded with messages just before sunset on Monday, struggling to process the news.
“Pak Lah never sought the limelight. His leadership was rooted not in ego or ambition, but in sincerity and moral clarity,” she wrote in a Facebook post.
She said Abdullah was deeply affected by divisive political rhetoric and often warned against fuelling racial and religious tensions in Malaysia’s diverse society.
Another former press secretary, Teoh Ai Hua, who continued serving Abdullah until 2013, shared a memory of photographing him at Seri Perdana on the eve of the Ninth Malaysia Plan launch.
“That image became my favourite. It showed the man I knew who was calm, thoughtful and entirely dedicated to the nation,” he wrote on Facebook.
Abdullah, fondly known as Pak Lah, died at the National Heart Institute (IJN) on Monday evening and was laid to rest with full state honours at the Heroes’ Mausoleum, National Mosque at 2.30 pm today.
