KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 — The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, today conveyed his condolences to the family of national cricket icon Datuk Dr Harjit Singh who died last night.
In a statement posted on Istana Negara's Facebook page, His Majesty also expressed his sadness over the passing of Dr Harjit and hoped that his family members would be patient in their moment of grief.
“His deeds and contributions, especially to the development of the national cricket scene are very much appreciated. His death is a great loss to the national cricket arena,” said the statement.
It is learnt that Dr Harjit died due to heart complications at the National Heart Institute (IJN) at 11.50 pm. He was 70.
Born in 1950, Dr Harjit was the son of former renowned Kilat Club cricketer, Meva Singh.
At 16 years old, Dr Harjit became the youngest player to represent Johor in the senior Malaysian Cricket League.
He also captained his Medical College XI and represented Ranchi University and Dhanbad district while studying medicine in India.
He returned to play cricket for Malaysia in 1980, where from 1982 until 1985, he captained the Johor cricket team in the national league.
The late Dr Harjit held various positions in cricket starting as Johor Cricket Council (JCC) president from 1987 and Malaysian Cricket Association deputy president between 1990 and 2003.
He was also the founder of the first cricket programme in primary schools in Malaysia in 1987 and awarded the Johor Sports Leadership Awards in 1989, 1995 and 2007.
In appreciation of his services, he was presented with a special award by the 10th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Almarhum Tuanku Ja’afar Ibni Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman, in 1998.
— Bernama
