KUALA LUMPUR: Seniman Negara (National Artiste) and renowned composer Tan Sri Dr Ahmad Nawab died today at his home in Taman Melewar, Gombak, near here. He was 92.
His granddaughter Teh Suraya Nasir Khan said Ahmad, whose real name was Ahmad Khan Nawab Khan, died at about 3.15 pm.
“He wasn’t suffering from any illnesses, but he had been running a fever for the past two or three days. Alhamdulillah, he passed away peacefully,” she told Bernama when contacted.
Teh Suraya said her grandfather would be buried at the Raudhatul Sakinah KL-Karak Muslim cemetery tomorrow morning.
Starting his music career at the age of 16, Ahmad was conferred the Seniman Negara award by the Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Heritage in 2006.
Throughout his career, Ahmad produced more than 200 albums performed by local and Indonesian artistes such as Hetty Koes Endang and Broery Marantika.
He composed the iconic ‘Malaysia Truly Asia’ song, performed by Datuk Khadijah Ibrahim, which became a hallmark of tourism-themed songs to promote Malaysia on the global stage.
Ahmad, who served with the RTM Orchestra for 17 years, won numerous awards, including the ‘Anugerah Merak Kayangan’ (Best Song) for his first composition, ‘Bintang Malam’, in 1980.
In recognition of his expertise and achievements, he received an honorary doctorate in Writing from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) in 2000.