GEORGE TOWN: “It is a great loss, a loss for those who fought with him for a better Penang, a better Malaysia and a better world.”
This was the reaction by Malaysian Nature Society (MSN) Penang branch adviser D. Kanda Kumar who spent a large amount of time highlighting current environmental issues with the late S.M. Mohamed Idris who passed away earlier today due to heart failure.
Before the MSN was established, Kanda Kumar was a member of Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) and had worked slosely with Idris.
He said that Idris was a hard working person who talked from his heart for the betterment of the people without having any agenda.
“He is a very straight forward guy. I was with him when we opposed the Penang Hill developmen. If there are any issues his team will be the first one to issue statement calling for the authorities to react.
“It is sad to see he has left us,” he said when contacted today.
The 93-year-old passed away at a private hospital here at about 5pm. His remains were claimed by his brother Mohideen Abdul Kader at about 7pm.
Idris was a respected non-governmental oragnisation activist and had been involved in serving society in various political and welfare bodies since the 1950s.
He is survived by four children.
Besides CAP, he is also leading several local and international non-governmental organisations.
Idris served as a councillor in the then city council in 1955. He has protested against several of the major developments in the state, including the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) and Penang South Reclamation (PSR) among others.
Born in a village in southern India on Dec 6, 1926, he received his early education at a madrasah and Tamil school in India, before accompanying his father to Penang at a young age. He later attended a Christian missionary school here but did not finish his education because of the war.
His remains will be kept at his house at Rose Avenue before the burial tomorrow morning at the Jalan Perak Muslim cemetery.
Penang Forum member Lim Mah Hui could not hold back his tears when he received news of Idris' death.
“I am lost for words. I cannot describe how I feel. We are deeply saddened with the loss of a great visionary who fought fearlessly for our society and the environment when people were not even aware of the envirionmental destruction taking place.
“He was a great man, always at the forefront. It is definitely a loss for all who had worked with him.
“He is a hero, who the young and old should emulate," he said.