KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 — Senior lawyer Datuk Sulaiman Abdullah died yesterday at age 77.

His death was announced by his only child, actor and director Huzir Sulaiman.

“I was present at his passing together with my wife Claire, as well his devoted personal assistant and caregiver Siti Nur Abdullah, supported by Muhammad Hamza, as well as family members and friends,” the 50-year-old said in a media statement late last night.

He did not disclose the cause of death, but shared that his father had faced “many health challenges” especially in the last 10 years while keeping his “sharp mind and dry wit”.

Huzir said his father’s funeral rites will take place today at 1.10pm after zohor prayers at Masjid Jamek Sultan Abdul Aziz on Jalan Templer in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, in accordance with Islamic practice.

“I will also organise an online memorial service in a few weeks, open to all.

“Should the legal community also wish to organise a memorial, I would welcome that,” Huzir added.

Sulaiman had been a Malaysian Bar president from 2000 to 2001, but was a member of its governing body, the Bar Council, for substantial periods since 1989.

The renowned lawyer from Penang who had studied at SK Wellesley, SK Francis Light, Penang Free School before graduating with a law degree from the University of Singapore (now the National University of Singapore) in 1969, had represented a diverse range of people and organisations throughout the career spanning over 50 years.

Some of his most notable cases include being appointed the first lead prosecutor in former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s RM42 million misappropriation of funds from SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former 1MDB subsidiary, back in 2018.

Sulaiman was also the lead counsel for Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin who sought to reclaim his position as Perak menteri besar in the 2009 Perak constitutional crisis where the Pakatan Rakyat-led state government collapsed.

He was also the lead defence counsel in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s second sodomy case but was forced to withdraw in July 2009 due to health issues.

Sulaiman had also represented the Islamic authorities of several states and the Federal Territories in a number of high-profile cases, including Lina Joy’s ultimately unsuccessful bid to omit the word “Islam” from her identity card, the Catholic Church’s challenge of the “Allah” word ban in their internal newsletter The Herald, three Negeri Sembilan transgenders’ unsuccessful constitutional challenge of an anti-crossdressing Shariah state law and also a Johor couple’s bid to remove the illegitimacy tag of “bin Abdullah” from their son’s name.