MEMBERS of the public can pay their last respects to the late Gopal Sri Ram on Tuesday, January 31. 

His family today informed that the wake will be held from 8am to 1pm at Nirvana 2, Kuala Lumpur, followed by a prayer. 

Thereafter, the cortege will leave for the crematorium at 2pm. 

Sri Ram, who died today, is survived by his widow, Chandra Sri Ram, and their two children, a lawyer and a doctor.

Sri Ram, who became a lawyer in 1970, had on numerous occasions represented Umno and Barisan Nasional.

He is best remembered for representing Umno when the High Court in 1988 declared the Malay-based party illegal.

He was the first practising lawyer from a private firm to be appointed to the Court of Appeal when it was set up in 1994.

He served as a judge at the appellate court for 15 years before being promoted to the Federal Court.

He retired from the judiciary in 2010 before returning to practice.

After his retirement, Sri Ram first appeared for Anwar Ibrahim as his lead counsel in the Federal Court for the latter’s sodomy appeal.

Later, former attorney general Tommy Thomas appointed Sri Ram lead prosecutor in embattled former prime minister Najib’s 1MDB-Tanore trial.

He was also tasked with leading the prosecution in the RM1.25 billion corruption trial involving Rosmah Mansor, the wife of former prime minister Najib Razak, who was sentenced to 10 years in jail and fined a record RM970 million by the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

Earlier, several prominent personalities, including Anwar, paid tribute to the renowned lawyer. –  January 29, 2023.