Palestinian rights activist Dr Alijah Gordon, who died at 11.40pm yesterday at the Gleneagles hospital in Kuala Lumpur, was laid to rest this afternoon. She was 74.

Her remains were taken to the AU 5 Muslim cemetary in Lembah Keramat following afternoon prayers at the Masjid Baitul Aman.

Some 400 people attended the funeral, including Keadilan president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, former National Unity and Social Development Minister Zaleha Ismail, former Ulu Kelang state assemblyperson Fuad Hassan and Abim president Ahmad Azam Abdul Rahman.

Gordon, an American by birth, gained Malaysian citizenship this year and was awarded with the honorary title of 'Dato'' in recognition of her devotion to the Palestinian cause to which she had given the best part of her life.

Several weeks ago, she had suffered a relapse of pneumonia, following which she had not been able to talk or breathe normally, according to her close friend Farish A. Noor.

Fiery views

Gordon was trustee of a Malaysia-led Palestinian trust fund set up in 1988 to improve the lives of Palestinians, in particular children. She was a driving force in channelling humanitarian support from Malaysians to Palestinians.

Under her supervision, the fund built a learning centre in one of the Lebanese refugee camps, sponsored hundreds of Palestinian orphans and disbursed emergency support to Palestinians living in occupied areas.

Gordon later headed the Malaysian Sociological Research Institute (MSRI).

Born Shirley Doris Gordon, she was a scholar, historian and socio-political activist who was never far from controversy because of her strong opinions against social injustice.

Gordon's fiery views in support of dispossessed Palestinians first found their way into the media when, in 1953, she participated in a televised debate in New York with Abba Eban, who was later to become an Israeli minister of foreign affairs.

Her outspokenness cost her a doctorate scholarship in the United States but it attracted the attention of the Egyptian Revolutionary Council which later awarded her a research scholarship in the country.

She published several books during her career, including 'In the Time of the Mishmish', a work based on her experiences in Egypt, as well as the first part of her autobiography 'On Becoming Alijah'.

She also edited 'Palestinians Speak', a book about the experiences of Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon.