KUALA LUMPUR - Singapore’s Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong has arrived at Malaysia’s Masjid Negara (National Mosque) on April 15, to attend the funeral of Malaysia’s former prime minister Abdullah Badawi.

He was accompanied by his wife Mrs Lee and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The state funeral of Tun Abdullah will be held at around 2pm, after noon prayers. He will be laid to rest at Makam Pahlawan (Heroes’ Mausoleum) in the compound of the mosque in downtown Kuala Lumpur.

Mr Abdullah, 85, died on April 14 at around 7.10pm, at the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur. He had suffered from dementia in the last few years.

Fondly known as “Pak Lah”, Mr Abdullah was Malaysia’s fifth prime minister from October 2003 to April 2009, a period that overlapped most with SM Lee’s tenure as Singapore’s prime minister.

SM Lee said in his Facebook post on April 15 that he knew Pak Lah before they became prime ministers of Singapore and Malaysia, respectively.

“He served his country with great dedication, working tirelessly to tackle Malaysia’s challenges and uplift the lives of Malaysians,” said SM Lee.

“It was a great privilege for me to have known Pak Lah, and shared many warm conversations with him over the years.”

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