S M Mohamed Idris, the Grand Old Man of Penang to the world, or “Uncle Idris” as he was known affectionately to his younger friends—and everyone was younger to him—passed on a late Friday afternoon a little less than three weeks ago. He was the last of his kind: kind and devout, yet fiercely disciplined and a taskmaster to everyone but never more so than to himself, a man of intense moral probity and perhaps more than anything else a relentless enemy of injustice, wherever and in whatever form it appeared. Oh, yes, there was something else about him: it was nearly impossible not to feel affectionate towards Uncle Idris, such was the radiance and goodwill that emanated from him.
Lal Salaam: A Blog by Vinay Lal 