Goodbye, my bhai: Malaysian PM recalls how Manmohan offered scholarships for his children

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim wrote a moving tribute to Manmohan Singh Friday, recalling how the Indian leader offered scholarships for his children while he was in prison.

On X, he described the former prime minister, who died Thursday, as “the midwife of India’s emergence as one of the world’s economic giants". And also as “my mitra, my bhai, Manmohan".

Though Anwar declined the offer, he was clearly moved by the gesture. The Malaysian leader was in jail from 1999 to 2004, when his sentence was overturned. During this period, Singh was Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha.

“Dr Manmohan Singh, slightly awkward as a politician but undeniably upright, steadfast and resolute as a statesman, leaves behind a legacy that will inspire generations to come," he posted.

"To me, he will be all that and much more. Not many people know this, and it is time that I share it with Malaysians: during the years of my incarceration, he extended a kindness that he didn’t have to... He offered scholarships for my children, particularly my son, Ihsan.

“Although I had declined the gracious offer, such a gesture undoubtedly showed his extraordinary humanity and generosity, demonstrative, as the Bard would have it, of a man so full of “the milk of human kindness,” the Malaysian PM posted.

"In those dark days, as I navigated the labyrinth of imprisonment, he stood by me as a true friend. Such acts of quiet magnanimity defined him, and they will remain etched in my heart forever. Goodbye, my mitra, my bhai, Manmohan," he wrote.

Anwar began by describing his overwhelming grief over the death. "The weight of grief bears down on me at the news of the passing of my honoured and cherished friend: Dr Manmohan Singh.”

“Obituaries, essays and books a plenty there will surely be about this great man, celebrating him as the architect of India’s economic reforms. As Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh was the midwife of India’s emergence as one of the world’s economic giants," he said.