ALOR STAR – Halijah Idris, better known as Mak Intan of the Pak Mie animal shelter, died at 11.15am today at Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital here, following a battle with Stage 4 ovarian cancer. She was 73.
Her eldest son, Badirol Hisham Ramli, 54, confirmed her death to The Vibes.
“My mother will be taken to Al Bukhary Mosque in Jalan Langgar. The body will be buried at the mosque cemetery.”
Pak Mie – real name Muhammad Azmi Ismail – and Halijah gained nationwide recognition after it was reported that their shelter, which was started in 2012, housed almost 700 stray dogs and cats.
Halijah continued caring for the animals after her husband died of a stroke and brain bleed at Ampang Hospital in 2015.

It remains to be seen if Badirol, a retired army ranger, will continue running the shelter.
Last month, The Vibes reported that the shelter received an eviction notice from the Alor Star City Council to give way to the construction of a regional sewage treatment plant and ongoing works on the Kota Setar sewage pipeline.
The family agreed to relocate the shelter after the city council provided an alternative site.
The notice states that they have until February 15 to do so. – The Vibes, February 10, 2021