PKR Johor state chairman Razak dies

JOHOR BARU: Abdul Razak Ahmad, one of Johor’s best known opposition politician, passed away after suffering a heart attack. 

The 68-year-old lawyer was known for his fiery views when he was in the now defunct Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia and Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM). 

Razak: Contested forparliamentary seats in severalgeneral elections but was neversuccessful.

He contested for parliamentary seats in several general elections but was never successful against the might of the Barisan Nasional machinery. 

He later joined Parti Keadilan Rakyat following the merger of PRM and Parti Keadilan Malaysia and became the state liaison chairman. 

Razak courted many controversies in his years in politics. One of the notable was in 1986 when he laid across the railway track in Johor Baru in an attempt to stop a Singapore-bound train to protest the visit of then Israeli president Chaim Herzog to the republic.  

In 1975, he was detained for two months under the Internal Security Act after he led a demonstration over land rights for squatters. 

Razak leaves behind wife Kintan Mohd Amin, 62, and children Zulkifli, 38, Juliah, 37, Faizal, 35, and Azlina, 34. 

Zulkifli said his father had complained of chest pains at about 4am yesterday and was rushed to the hospital. 

Razak was buried at the Mahmoodiah cemetery yesterday evening. 

PKR deputy president Dr Syed Husin Ali said the party mourned the lost of one its most influential member and he himself has lost a good friend. 

“He was such a humble and down to earth man,” he said.