Tun Sakaran Dandai – — Picture via Twitter
KOTA KINABALU (Aug 30): Former Head of State Tun Sakaran Dandai has succumbed to Covid-19 today.
He was 91.
Sakaran, who was also former chief minister of Sabah, breathed his last at Gleneagles Hospital where he was admitted for Covid-19 since Aug 18 and transferred to intensive care unit (ICU) six days later.
His third son, Datuk Seri Nasir Tun Sakaran, confirmed the news and said the hospital informed his family of his father’s passing at around 6am today.
Nasir said his father’s remains would be managed at the State Mosque and laid to rest at Makam Pahlawan.
Sakaran left behind a wife and 12 children.
Sakaran, who was from Semporna, was the eighth Chief Minister of Sabah in 1994 before being appointed to serve as the eighth Head of State of Sabah from Jan 1, 1995 to Dec 31, 2002.
He had played an important role for Sabah and Malaysia in improving the socioeconomic status and education of the people, and also in promoting Islamic literature, which had also led him to be named the recipient of the National Tokoh Maal Hijrah Award 2017.
Sakaran’s passing came after 24 hours of the death of Amanah Ikthiar Malaysia (AIM) executive chairman Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin, who passed away at around 6am at KPJ Sabah Specialist Hospital on Sunday due to Covid-19.