Prominent and highly respected lawyer Raja Aziz Addruse passed away at 1.20pm today, after a battle with cancer.

raja aziz addruse interview judiciary crisis 060808 06 It is learnt he had been seeking treatment in Singapore.

Raja Aziz, 75, who was a former Bar Council chairperson, was a respected civil rights lawyer and had represented clients in many well-known cases.

Among them was Anwar Ibrahim in his abuse of power trial in 1998, and in the RHB suit against its founder, Rashid Hussein.

Raja Aziz also defended former Lord President Salleh Abas, who was ordered to appear before a tribunal after the (then) Supreme Court's decision in declaring Umno an illegal organisation.

Following the Salleh Abbas case, Raja Aziz wrote the book, Conduct unbecoming: In defence of Tun Mohd Salleh Abas .

Soft-spoken and with a mild British accent, he was never afraid to speak his mind.

Elected to International Commission of Jurists

Raja Aziz was one of the highly respected, towering Malaysians among the legal fraternity and had been Bar Council chairperson on three occasions over three decades, between the 1970s and 1990s.

He was the Bar chairperson from 1976-78, 1988-89 and 1992-94, and is seen as one of the pivotal players in uplifting the profession and fighting for human rights, besides being a renowned civil lawyer.

He obtained his law degree from Lincolns Inn, England, and was admitted to the Malaysian Bar in 1966. He ran his own law firm, Raja Aziz Addruse.

Raja Aziz, was one of three Malaysians elected to the International Commission of Jurists. He held the post in 2006.

Others who had held the post include former United Nations special rapporteur Param Cumaraswamy and former Lord President Suffian Hashim.

His body is currently at his home in Kenny Hills and the burial is expected to be held at the Bukit Kiara Muslim cemetery.