KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has expressed his profound sadness over the passing of academic figure Professor Emeritus Datuk Abu Bakar Abd Hamid, who died last Sunday.

In a Facebook post today, he described the late Abu Bakar, a former deputy vice-chancellor of Universiti Malaya (UM), as a prominent figure in Malay literature and instrumental in the establishment of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).

As one of Abu Bakar’s former students, Anwar also expressed his sorrow over the loss of a teacher who was deeply loved and cherished.

“We loved and cherished him not only as a teacher, but also as someone who was passionate about knowledge and always inspired everyone.

“May Allah SWT forgive his sins and grant his soul peace and a special place,” he said.

The late Abu Bakar, a native of Johor, was reported to have suffered sudden shortness of breath and died at about 10.30pm on June 21 at his residence in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

The prominent literary figure served as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) from 1996 to 2000.

Throughout his life, he received numerous prestigious awards and recognition for his outstanding 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 UKM in 1968.

Abu Bakar was laid to rest at the Bukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery on Monday. — Bernama