KUALA LUMPUR: Lawyer and social activist Haris Ibrahim has succumbed to cancer.
He was 64.
An online portal, Free Malaysia Today reported that his remains will be brought to the At Taqwa mosque in Taman Tun Dr Ismail after asar prayers and he will be laid to rest at the Bukit Kiara Muslim cemetery.
Haris was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in April last year.
Despite his illness, the founder of the "Asalkan Bukan Umno" movement returned to legal practice two months later.
His partner at Haris Ibrahim Kandiah Partnership, Ashok Kandiah described Haris as "the definition of a towering Malaysian".
"I will put it this way, a few have given up life's comforts for the betterment of the country like Haris has.
"He was a great lawyer and was doing very well before giving up his legal practice so that we could have a better Malaysia - before then returning to practice," he said.
Haris who arrived at Padang Merbok in a wheelchair for the Malaysian Bar's Walk for Judicial Independence in Kuala Lumpur last June was in a jovial mood.
He was greeted by many who wishes him well.
"It is important to stand up and defend the judiciary, the third pillar of democracy. That is why I am here to support my brothers and sisters," he said.
The Court of Appeal had in 2019 acquitted Haris of a sedition charge after he called for a change of government during a public forum in Kuala Lumpur on May 13, 2013.