Over 150 Congregants Attend Funeral Prayers For Literary Figure Abu Bakar Abd Hamid

KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 (Bernama) -- More than 150 congregants attended the funeral prayers for literary figure and former Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) Board of Governors chairman Prof Emeritus Datuk Abu Bakar Abd Hamid, who died of old age last night. He was 87.

The funeral prayers were held at Masjid At-Taqwa in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, near here, after his remains were bathed and shrouded at the same mosque. He was laid to rest at the Bukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery after the Zohor prayer.

Besides family members, National Journalism Laureate Tan Sri Johan Jaaffar was also among those who performed the funeral prayers.

Speaking to reporters before the prayers, Johan said the late Abu Bakar had been his lecturer at the Department of Malay Studies, Universiti Malaya, from 1975 to 1977, and described him as a highly dedicated academic.

According to Johan, the late Abu Bakar had played a significant role in shaping the development of the Department of Malay Studies and exerted a profound influence on the generation of students who studied at the university during that period.

“He was a very dedicated lecturer who helped shape and define the Department of Malay Studies. Not many people know that the late Abu Bakar, together with Professor Wahab Ali, founded the Creative and Descriptive Department at Universiti Malaya around 1977.

“That department later evolved into the university’s Department of Media. His contributions to the media industry and academia were indeed immense,” he said.

Meanwhile, the deceased’s youngest son, Ahmad Muzaffar, 45, said his father had appeared to have a reduced appetite after Aidiladha and was subsequently brought to stay with him.

“However, a few days before his passing in the early hours today, he ate heartily and was still energetic enough to walk around and carry out his daily activities.

“He suddenly experienced shortness of breath last night before breathing his last at my home,” he said.

Describing his father as a man of high integrity, Ahmad Muzaffar said he was firm in his principles and would always stand by his team when he believed they were in the right.

Throughout his life, the late Abu Bakar, who served as chairman of the Bernama Board of Governors from 1996 to 2000, received numerous accolades and prestigious awards in recognition of his contributions to literature.

He was also appointed Universiti Malaya deputy vice-chancellor in 1987 and served as joint secretary of the committee established to set up Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in 1968.

-- BERNAMA