MALAYSIAN independence fighter and former politician Lim Kean Chye died on Wednesday, Malaysiakini reports. He was 103.

The Cambridge-educated lawyer was the founding member of the Malayan Democratic Union and had fought for Malaya and Singapore’s independence from the British.

Lim’s daughter, Lim Miao Yiong, said she was informed that he passed away peacefully at his home on Wednesday night.

“There will not be a funeral, a wake, or any ceremony because my father did not like fuss. So it will be a private cremation with close family members,” she was quoted as saying.

She said her father was frail and had a pacemaker installed 10 years ago.

“I would say he died of old age. He was weakening already, which was why I came back (to Penang) 10 days ago,” she said.

Kean Chye was also the son of Lim Cheng Ean, another Cambridge-trained lawyer and a legislative councillor in the 1930s, and the grandson of Phuah Hin Leong.

He is survived by his widow, daughters Miao Ling and Miao Yiong, four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Lawyer Cecil Rajendra also confirmed Kean Chye’s death.

“He contracted Covid-19, but I wouldn’t say he died due to that. He was already weak, so it was due to multiple health conditions,” he said. – June 9, 2023.