Following news of the death of Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, jailed Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has asked prison authorities to allow him a few hours of freedom to pay his respects to the late PAS spiritual leader.
Prison authorities, however, have not responded, the Malay Mail Online reports.
His daughter Nurul Izzah told the portal that there’s been no reply so far: “Informal request (was made) at midnight and written this morning by lawyers.”
The 84-year-old who was the longest serving Menteri Besar of the east coast state — from 1990 to 2013 — died in Kota Baru last night, an hour after he was discharged from Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia in Kubang Kerian.
Much loved and respected among Muslims and non-Muslims alike, Nik Aziz was known as much for his simple lifestyle and soft-spoken nature as his determination to implement Syariah criminal law in the state.
His death comes less than a year after the death of DAP national chairman Karpal Singh in a tragic car crash that happened on April 17 last year.
Anwar Ibrahim — the unifying factor between the three Pakatan Rakyat allies: PKR, DAP and PAS — was jailed on Tuesday after the Federal Court upheld a Court of Appeal verdict which found him guilty of sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan. Anwar will serve a five-year sentence at the Sungai Buloh prison.
Image credit: Antarapos
