Kuala Lampur, April 15 -- He is the only Prime Minister I've ever shaken hands with.

It was 2004, and I was a young lecturer - ambitious, uncertain, and just beginning to find my footing in academia. I had volunteered (read: forced) to help organise an international conference, more for the experience than anything else. On the day of the opening ceremony, as the guest of honour arrived, there he was: Malaysia's 5th Prime Minister, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. He stepped out of the car with a calm presence, gentle smile, and the kind of warmth that didn't require speeches or slogans.

And then, quite unceremoniously, we shook hands.

It was just a brief moment - polite, formal, as expected in these events. But last night, as news of his pa...