KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today paid tribute to senior lawyer Datuk Sulaiman Abdullah who died yesterday at the age of 77.

Taking to his official account on X (formerly known as Twitter), Anwar described Sulaiman as not just a lawyer, but also a close friend who stood by him and his family during dark and difficult times.

Anwar said he was deeply affected upon receiving news of Sulaiman’s death while still in Tokyo, Japan for a work visit.

“His strong convictions and conscience towards the principles of justice and human rights are indisputable," he said in the posting.

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

The news of Sulaiman’s death was confirmed by his son, actor and director Huzir Sulaiman.

Others paying tribute included Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail who remembered Sulaiman during the time he defended Anwar and his reformist struggles.

"His service and contribution, especially during the bitter time of the struggle for justice and reform in defending Anwar, impressed all of us," he said in a Facebook posting.

Another prominent lawyer, Datuk Roger Tan, a contemporary of Sulaiman, described the latter as “a giant of a lawyer, a doyen and legend of the Malaysian Bar” whose death is a great loss to the legal profession and administration of justice in Malaysia.

“He and I were together in the Bar Council for many years and I had learnt much from him. He would go through the minutes of Council and Committees with a fine-tooth comb, right down to the grammar,” Tan said in a text message to Malay Mail.

He added that despite Sulaiman’s poor health in his later years, he remained steadfast in his commitment when it came to matters of law.

“Only he had the stature to put in their place and reprimand other senior lawyers who deviated from these with his wit and impeccable command of the English language.

“He had never shied away from speaking up fearlessly on controversial issues within and without the general meetings of the Bar,” Tan said.

He will be deeply missed and his passing is a great loss to the legal profession and administration of justice in this country.

Separately, the Malaysian Bar also extended its condolences to Sulaiman’s family.

He 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.

Sulaiman was admitted as an advocate and solicitor of the High Court of Malaya in 1969; and 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.

He also served in the several Bar Council committees between 1994 up until 2022 where he served as co-chairperson of the Syariah Law Committee.

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.