PETALING JAYA: A friend who was simple and humble.
That is how sprint legend Datuk M. Rajamani described former national hurdler Rajemah Sheikh Ahmad who passed away after succumbing to pancreatic cancer yesterday.
Rajemah’s younger brother Sheikh Kamaruddin Sheikh Ahmad, a former national coaching board director confirmed that his 77-year-old sister died in Terengganu.
Rajamani recalled that they had trained together in the early 60s.
“We were in centralised training camps several times starting from 1964. She was such a humble and friendly person,” said Rajamani.
“Her parents used to come and visit us during training. They will bring home-cooked food and she will share it with me. Such generosity. We even drank from the same glass.
“Her late husband Kamaruddin Maidin (who passed away in 2009) was a triple and long jumper and had competed in the 1960 Rome Olympics.
“He was the live wire in the team and together they brought so much fun and laughter. She will be dearly missed.”
“We were in the same training camp for the SEAP Games in 1965 and Asian Games in 1966. We had a great team then.”
Rajemah was part of the quartet that broke the 4x100m national record en route to a bronze medal at the 1966 Bangkok Asiad.
Her other teammates were Rajamani, Cheryl Dorall and Jacqueline Klienman.
After retiring, Rajemah was involved in sports administration and held the vice-president’s post at the Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) in 2019.
