MALAYSIA'S FIRST DISABLED SENATOR DIES

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's first disabled senator, Prof Dr Ismail Md Salleh died on a flight from China to Singapore early Thursday. He was 61.

An officer at the Malaysian High Commission in Singapore said Ismail was
pronounced dead on arrival at the Singapore General Hospital at about 8am.

The hospital will conduct a post-mortem to determine the cause of his death,
he told Bernama.

A father of six children, the visually challenged Dr. Ismail became the
first person from the disabled community to be appointed as senator in December
2007.

Born in Pasir Mas, in northeast state of Kelantan, he was totally blind
since he was 13, but the limitation did not stop him from getting his degree,
masters and PhD, all in the United States.

For his achievements, Ismail was named as the first blind person to receive
a doctorate by the Guinness Book of World Records.

He also held various key positions including Twintech International
University College vice-chancellor, Twintech Holdings Sdn Bhd chief executive
officer, National Association of Bumiputera Private Colleges president, a member
of the National Implementation Task Force in the Prime Minister's Department and
Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) former deputy
director-general.
-- BERNAMA