KUALA LUMPUR: Hanapiah Nasir, who was, without doubt, one of Malaysia's greatest athletes, died today of leukaemia. He was 65.
Hanapiah, who was unrivalled in Southeast Asia in the 1980s, suffered from blood cancer since 2015.
The Melaka legend excelled in both track and field, winning many honours at international level, while breaking national records in the decathlon and long jump.
Hanapiah was a rare and versatile Malaysian athlete who ran, jumped and threw his way to glory.
He won four gold - in the long jump (1985), 110m hurdles (1985) and decathlon (1981 and 1983). He even tried the relay, and won silver in the 4x100m in 1985.
Hanapiah also excelled as a coach, and he had trained many athletes including stars like 110m hurdler Nur Herman Majid and high jumper Loo Kum Zee.
Hanapiah was the national chief coach with the Malaysian Athletics Federation from 2005 to 2009.
The former Maybank officer was also a qualified physical instructor.
The good-natured Hanapiah was a popular figure in the Malaysian sports scene. I remember covering athletics when he was the national coach, and he said to me with a big smile at Bukit Jalil: "Mr. Singh what can I do for you?"
Hanapiah, who loved riding big bikes, will be missed by many. He will be buried at Masjid Kg Baru tomorrow.