KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 — Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin, one of the co-founders of the G25 group of senior retired civil servants who lobbied for institutional reform, is dead at age 76.
Her death was reported this afternoon by news portal Free Malaysia Today, which cited confirmation from G25 executive secretary Jasmine Zulkifli.
Noor Farida Ariffin was born in Kuala Kangsar, Perak in 1947.
She joined the Judicial and Legal Service in 1971 and served there for 25 years after completing her legal education at the Inns of Court in London.
Her 36-year career in public service included pivotal roles as the director of the Legal Aid Bureau, head of the Legal Division of Foreign Ministry, under-secretary of the Territorial and Maritime Division of Foreign Ministry, and ambassador to the Netherlands as well as Malaysia’s co-agent to the International Court of Justice for the Pulau Ligitan and Pulau Sipadan case.
After retiring from the civil service in 2012, she and several other distinguished retired public officials like former High Court judge Datuk Syed Ahmad Idid, former Kuala Lumpur mayor Tan Sri Mazlan Ahmad, and former Education director-general Tan Sri Dr Asiah Abu Samah formed a non-governmental group called G25 in 2015.
The group’s initial aim back then was to press the government to review Shariah criminal offences and to assert the supremacy of the Federal Constitution over Islamic state laws in the country, which has since evolved to push a reform agenda in public institutions.
Noor Farida’s death has been met with expressions of condolences to her family as well as grief on social media platforms from those who knew her well and those who had worked with her in the past.
“A loss to the nation. Noor Farida was more than a standard bearer for civil service. She was exemplary in her service, leadership, courage and integrity. I loved and admired the way she carried herself and spoke with such clarity on issues especially on political financing and women’s rights. She will be missed in conversations (and heated discussions) amongst members of civil society. Salam Takziah to her family,” Robyn Choi posted on her Facebook account.
Choi also shared two photos of Noor Farida taken at a press conference on the Women’s March against Toxic Politics back in 2017.
“I had the privilege of moderating a panel where she was a panelist in her capacity as a member of G25.
“She was very committed to her cause of making Malaysia a more integrated place,” said Tai Zee Kin on his Facebook page.
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