His passing Monday wasconfirmed on social media by incumbent Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
A career politician, Abdullah served all four of Malaysia’s post-independence leaders in posts ranging from education minister to foreign minister. Mahathir fired his deputy Anwar in September 1998 following a clash over the imposition of capital controls during the Asian financial crisis and appointed Abdullah to succeed him when he retired in late 2003, after 22 years in the top job.
