Arab-Malaysian Bank founder Hussain Ahmad Najadi was gunned down in Kuala Lumpur today, police said.

The attack took place in a car park near the Kuan Yin Temple on Lorong Ceylon at 2pm. Hussain was with his wife at the time.

Kuala Lumpur deputy CID chief Khairi Ahrasa told Bernama the couple was attacked from behind by two assailants.

NONE Hussain ( right ), 75, was shot twice on the torso while his wife, 49, was shot on the arm and leg. Hussain succumbed to his injuries while his seriously injured wife has been warded.

Khairi said preliminary investigations suggested that three men aged between 35 and 40 years were waiting for Hussain outside the temple.

Hussain was said to have met a friend at the temple to discuss business matters.

"The suspects escaped in a taxi. The motive is yet to be established but it is believed to be related to business," Khairi said.

A witness told the national news agency that he heard more than five shots being fired.

Hussain is an Iranian with permanent residency status.

Son expressed shock

Meanwhile, his son Pascal Najadi has expressed shock over the murder of his father.

"I was shocked upon hearing about the killing in Kuala Lumpur, which was carried out in broad daylight," he told Bernama in a telephone interview from Europe.

Pascal, who holds dual Swiss and British citizenship, urged the Malaysian authorities to do their utmost to apprehend the culprits involved in the killing of his father and bring them to justice.

Pascal, 45, who is also a banker, said the irony was that his father was murdered in Malaysia, a country for which he had so much affection, having called it home for more than four decades.

He said he came to know about the killing, a few hours after it took place and that he was also informed by the Malaysian police.

Hussain founded Arab Malaysian Banking Group in 1975 before it changed hands in 1982, to what is known as Arab Malaysian Bank or Ambank.

Shooting in Penang

In Nibong Tebal tonight, a man was shot on his right thigh by unknown assailants while driving in a car with his friend along Jalan Mengkuang, near Bukit Mertajam.

According to Bernama , Penang CID chief SAC Mazlan Kesah said  the victim, aged 30, was with his friend in a car during the 8.30pm incident.

"Initial investigations revealed that the victim was from Jalan Mengkuang and the two were heading to the Butterworth-Kulim Expressway (BKE).

"When he stopped at a traffic light, two men on a motorcycle came close to the car and one of them fired at the victim, hitting his right thigh," Mazlan said at the Seberang Perai Selatan police headquarters tonight.

He said the victim, who had a number of criminal records, was rushed to the Kulim Hospital for treatment while his friend was not hurt.

"We are investigating the motive for the shooting," Mazlan said.