Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim paid tribute to former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh by saying “Farewell, my mitra, my bhai, Manmohan”, while reminiscing about the times they shared.
Dr Manmohan Singh passed away on Thursday evening at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi at the age of 92.
Ibrahim called Singh a friend and a key figure in India’s economic transformation. He also recalled working with Singh in the 1990s, when both were finance ministers.
“The weight of grief falls upon me at the news of the passing away of my honored and dear friend – Dr. Manmohan Singh. There will surely be many obituaries, essays and books on this great man, celebrating him as the architect of India’s economic reforms. As Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh midwifed India’s emergence as one of the world’s economic giants,” Ibrahim posted on X.
Then, reflecting on the time they shared together as finance ministers of their respective countries, he added: “I had the rare privilege of witnessing first-hand the early years of these transformative policies while we both served as finance ministers during the 1990s. “We share a fervent commitment to the war against corruption, including collaborating to unravel a major case.”
Ibrahim also shared a personal anecdote about Dr. Singh offering scholarships to his children during his incarceration. “For me, he will be all that and much more. Not many people know this, and it’s about time I shared it with Malaysians: during the years of my imprisonment, he showed me a kindness I didn’t need, one that was neither politically expedient nor, as you might imagine, appreciated by the Malaysian government at that time. However, true to his character, he did it anyway. He offered scholarships for my children, particularly my son, Ihsan. Although he had rejected the kind offer, such a gesture certainly demonstrated his extraordinary humanity and generosity, demonstrative, as the Bard would say, of a man so full of “the milk of human kindness,” Ibrahim said.
Further reflecting Manmohan Singh’s support during his imprisonment, the Malaysian Prime Minister said: “In those dark days, as I navigated the labyrinth of imprisonment, he stood by me as a true friend. Such acts of quiet magnanimity defined him , and they will continue to be so. They will be engraved in my heart forever.”
Singh was born on September 26, 1932. He served as Prime Minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was also Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 1982 to 1985.
