TRADERS FONDLY REMEMBER PAK LAH FOR WALKING THE EXTRA MILE TO BUILD KEPALA BATAS PUBLIC MARKET

KEPALA BATAS, April 15 (Bernama) -- The late Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the country's fifth prime minister, will continue to be remembered by the community as a friendly, gentle and very helpful leader regardless of race, religion or political alignment.

His humble nature and genuine concern for the common man will certainly leave a deep impression in the hearts of the people of the Kepala Batas area because Tun Abdullah, who was the Member of Parliament for Kepala Batas for seven terms since 1979, always smiled, greeted others warmly and was not beneath his station to chat with the public.

In fact, the contributions and services of Tun Abdullah or Pak Lah as he was more fondly known, are appreciated till this day, much so by traders at the Kepala Batas Public Market for moving them to a more comfortable and spacious building in Permatang Manggis.

A fish monger, Mohd Rozi Yahaya, 54, said he previously did business at the market in Pekan Kepala Batas, which is only about 100 metres from Pak Lah's family home, but because the area was quite crowded and dense, Tun Abdullah who was then prime minister, approved an allocation to build the Kepala Batas Public Market.

"The market in Pekan Kepala Batas was getting crowded and so Pak Lah proposed building a new Kepala Batas Public Market and in 2002, all of us traders moved to the market which was more comfortable and complete in infrastructure," he said when met by Bernama today.

Mohd Rozi, who has been an intern to his father in business since he was 11, said his family knew Pak Lah because they often frequented his father's stall in Pekan Kepala Batas where Pak Lah treated everyone well without distinguishing between rank, race or religion.

For another trader, Ismail Abdul Rahman, 57, he and his wife Latifah Othman were among the traders at the old market site who witnessed the inauguration of the Kepala Batas Public Market by Tun Abdullah.

Ismail said that before they moved to the new market, Tun Abdullah was often seen at the old market where he liked to shop and take opportunities to mingle with the masses.

"Pak Lah never changed, his attitude remained the same until now with his gentle manner of speaking, friendliness with people and most importantly, he is full of religious knowledge," said Ismail who has been in business for the past 30 years.

For a former vegetable trader, Bai Eng, 75, there were no words to describe his sadness on receiving the news of Tun Abdullah's death last night because he had known Pak Lah since he was young.

"Before I started selling vegetables, I was growing it and Pak Lah often stopped by my garden. After that, I was trading at the market in Pekan Kepala Batas, he already had high office in the country but Pak Lah would always greet and chat with me in a friendly manner," he said.

Meanwhile, former Kepala Batas MIC chief Datuk M. Sivanathan, 78, who is also a good friend of Tun Abdullah, said he knew Pak Lah for over 50 years and the former prime minister's house in Permatang Bertam was his second home because he often visited the place.

"I was in the same class as Pak Lah's younger brother, Datuk Ibrahim, but I was also close to Pak Lah, and we were often together, especially when Pak Lah led UMNO Kepala Batas.

"Our memories and recollections will certainly stay with me forever," he said, holding back tears several times during the interview.

Meanwhile, about 100 worshippers at the Al Jamiul Badawi Mosque organised funeral prayers for Tun Abdullah who was the patron of the mosque, after the Zohor prayer today, led by the mosque's senior imam, Ustaz Dr Muhammad Hambali Zulkifli.

A Bernama survey also found that residents of the Kepala Batas area took the opportunity to follow the live broadcast of Tun Abdullah's last journey via social media.

The late Tun Abdullah breathed his last at the National Heart Institute (IJN) at 7.10 pm last night at the age of 85, and his remains were laid to rest with full state honours at the Heroes' Mausoleum, beside the National Mosque, at 2.30 pm today (April 15), 2025.

-- BERNAMA