Allahyarham Nasir P ramlee

Nasir P. Ramlee, 55, died

The only child of the legendary Tan Sri P. Ramlee and actress Junaidah Daeng Haris died at 5.05pm.The good-natured Nasir had been a musical director at Istana Budaya since 2001. He was suffering from breathing complications and headaches as early as 3am yesterday before he was taken to the hospital by his wife, Suria Bakar. Suria said Nasir had refused to eat for the last couple of days. "He drank a lot of water instead and although I tried to control him due to his pneumonia, he insisted that I give him the drinks," Suria said.When she realised his condition had worsened, Suria offered to take him to hospital but, typically, he declined. "He never liked going to the hospital for fear of being admitted. "Even when the doctor asked if he had any complications yesterday, Nasir refused to mention anything about his heart condition. "When he was at the emergency room, the doctor pronounced that his kidney had stopped functioning."His death is untimely. My husband was a strong man and a true fighter till the very end. He never complained about his illness," she said.According to Suria, Nasir had insisted on sleeping in the same room as his sons, Zaidi, 19, and Zakaria, 16, for the last couple of weeks. "He would usually sleep in his small studio at home. He even said that if they refused to stay with him at night they would regret it. "I didn't realise that it would be his last wish to spend time together as a family," said a teary-eyed Suria. Nasir was born on Nov 23, 1953 in Singapore. His passion for acting was discovered by renowned Jalan Ampas director S. Kadarisman when he was in his early 20s. During his career in showbiz, Nasir had acted in a series of films, including Pancaindera, Harimau Berantai, Anak Bapak, Kalau Berpaut Di Dahan Rapuh and Bujang Lapuk Kembali Daa.Between 1983 and 1986, Nasir produced songs for Bujang Lapuk Kembali Daa, Pagar-Pagar Cinta and Manis-Manis Sayang.Nasir's 22-year-old daughter Najwa said she knew her father was ill but he never complained about his sickness."I last saw him a couple of weeks ago and told him about a tribute to P. Ramlee which I'm attending in Kuching in May. He never said anything about being ill," she said.Veteran actor Datuk Mustapha Maarof described Nasir as polite and respectful. "I met him at Istana Budaya about 11/2 months ago and he talked about a script which he wanted to film. I'm upset because he didn't get to see his dream materialise." Musician and longtime friend Hussein Ali said Nasir had never complained of his illness. "I knew he was suffering as he looked ill but he refused to say anything about it," he said. Nasir is survived by Suria and seven children. He will be buried at the Taman Ibu Kota Muslim cemetery here at 11am today.

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