Veteran actress Umi dies at 81

KUALA LUMPUR: Veteran actress Datin Umi Kalthum passed away at her daughter’s home in Taman Melawati here. She was 81.

Her daughter, actress Noorkumalasari, said her eldest sister had gone to wake her mother up for sahur prayers at around 4am when she found that Umi had passed away in her sleep.

“My mother did not have any critical illness and was very active despite her age,” she said.

Noorkumalasari said her mother’s behaviour had been normal when they last met two days ago.

“I brought her some sambal bilis,” she said, adding that Umi had not left any message behind before her death.

Umi – whose real name is Patimah Bahudin – acted in more than 20 films, among which were movie classics like Bawang Putih Bawang Merah, Raden Mas, Laila Majnun and more recent hits such as Menanti Hari Esok and Syukur 21.

Her husband, actor Datuk S. Roomai Noor, died in Mecca some 17 years ago and since then, Umi had frequently visited the holy land in memory of him.