ALOR SETAR: A renowned khatib collapsed and lost consciousness while delivering the Friday sermon at the Al-Bukhary mosque here, to the horror of his congregation.
He was rushed to hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, Bernama reported.
Ustaz Ku Yaacob Ku Hashim, 68, a former teacher of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Kedah here, collapsed at 1.30pm in the midst of his sermon.
“We were focusing on his sermon, when he suddenly collapsed and fell on the pulpit.
“A few of us rushed to bring him down and several doctors in the congregation administered CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) while I called for an ambulance,” said Ku Yaacob’s former student Hassan Mustafa Afifuddin, 30, who was among the Friday prayer congregation.
He said that soon after reaching the Sultanah Bahiyah (HSB) hospital, the medical officer on duty pronounced Ku Yaacob dead.
Meanwhile, upon hearing the news, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail expressed her condolences to Ku Yaacob’s family.
“Death is a very humbling experience. Condolences to the family of Ustaz Ku Yaacob Ku Hashim.
“May his soul be blessed and placed among the righteous,” she said on her Twitter account last night.
Details on Ku Yaacob’s funeral have yet to be announced.