His eldest child, Siti Noraishah, 60, told Bernama that her father was in critical condition since 3am today and was placed on a respiratory machine.

“After being placed on the ventilator, my father could breathe as normal.

“But since 8 this morning, he was again showing critical signs. Now, many relatives and friends have come to visit him and recite the ‘Yassin’,” she said.

According to Aishah, all family members had been informed to return home and the doctor treating her father had said that nothing more could be done because her father’s condition was too weak.

“All family members now leave his fate in the hands of Allah (almighty God),” she said.

SM Salim or his real name, Sheikh Salim Sheikh Muhammad Al Mahros, began his career as a singer in 1957 and was a singer of traditional Malay songs.

The veteran singer became paralysed due to a nerve disorder and had been wheel-chair bound for the past 17 years.