"Guiding star" and "leading light".
These words best describe Malaysian facilitator Tengku Datu
Abdul Ghafar Tengku Bin Mohamad, who played a major role in the peace talks
between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF),
Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus G. Dureza has said.
Reports said Tengku Ghafar died of a heart ailment in Malaysia
Dureza, in a statement, said he and Tengku Ghafar presided
over the launch of the implementation phase of the GPH-Bangsamoro peace
negotiations last Aug. 13-14, which took 17 years to become a realization.
He said the Malaysian facilitator contributed much to this
achievement because "for the most part, he skillfully and adroitly
marshaled (it) to a successful conclusion".
"The last time we met, Tengku was full of life and beaming
with vigor, seeing a breakthrough in what he was doing for years as a moving
spirit. We both traded jovial and happy words and thoughts. He was a happy man
raring to take his flight for a scheduled and long-awaited trip abroad, to
enjoy what he described to me as his 'last fling'. I did not realize then that
it was his way of saying farewell to a friend," he said.
Dureza said the Philippine government mourns Tengku Ghafar's
death but also celebrates "his valuable contributions to our continuing
work for peace in the land".
"I know that he had to finish his task first and now
that it is done, he begs leave and quietly passes into the night," he
said.
"Goodbye, my friend Tengku. Your legacy will remain and
will be well and long remembered," he added.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=919625
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