KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 — The late Royal Prof Ungku Abdul Aziz Abdul Hamid was laid to rest at the Bukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery here, at about 9.50 tonight.

His remains arrived at the cemetery at about 9.15pm after the funeral prayers at the Taman Tun Dr Ismail At-Taqwa Mosque here, at 8.55pm.

The funeral, attended by family members and friends, was conducted in accordance with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) of the conditional movement control order (CMCO).

The late Ungku Abdul Aziz, 98, died here, at about 4pm this afternoon.

Syed Husin Ali, former lecturer at the Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Universiti Malaya (UM), described the late Prof Ungku Aziz as an individual who was very concerned about society, especially involving the poverty of the rural population.

"In fact, the late Prof Ungku Aziz was also the first person to fight about the use of the Malay language in the UM and organised the language congress in Singapore and Johor Bahru at that time (the 1950s),” he told reporters after the funeral.

Meanwhile, Angkatan Koperasi Kebangsaan Malaysia Berhad (Angkasa) vice-president Datuk Mohamad Ali Hasan said that Malaysia had not only lost a leading academic figure, but also a fighter for the cooperative movement in this country.

"The late Prof Ungku Aziz strongly encouraged the establishment of cooperatives, including in schools. Malaysia is the only country in the world that has cooperatives in schools.

"Almost 98 per cent of secondary schools have cooperatives. Most cooperatives in schools are able to generate returns of more than RM1 million, similar to others,” he said.

Ungku Abdul Aziz, a 98-year-old academician and economist, died at about 4pm this afternoon.

He was born in London, United Kingdom on January 28,1922 and is the father of former Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar who is currently the chairman of Permodalan Nasional Berhad.

Ungku Aziz is second to none when it comes to his contribution to Muslims and Malays economically, as he was the person responsible for the establishment of the Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) (formerly known as the Prospective Hajj Pilgrims Savings Corporation (Perbadanan Wang Simpanan Bakal-bakal Haji (PWSBH) in November 1962.

Ungku Aziz's commitment to empowering the people's economy is significant. In addition to the establishment of TH, he was the driving force behind the country’s cooperatives and was president of Angkasa for almost 40 years, from 1971 to 2009. — Bernama