SINGAPORE - Mr Ali Yusoff, the Straits Times photographer who shot the iconic image of Singapore’s first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew choking and in tears as he announced the country’s eviction from Malaysia, died on Jan 7.

He was 84.

His youngest son, Mr Marlinazrul Ali, 43, said he had been in critical condition in the intensive care unit at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital since Jan 6. 

Mr Ali started working as a news photographer at ST from a very young age, “possibly at 18 years old”, said Mr Marlinazrul, a technical services manager.

“My grandfather, a policeman, was a casual photographer. This was probably how our father picked up the skills,” he told ST.

Over a remarkably varied career spanning more than 30 years, Mr Ali captured several famous images – ranging from politics and crime, to sports and fashion.

His favourite remained the one of the late Mr Lee in tears when he announced the separation of Singapore from Malaysia on Aug 9, 1965. It is also the favourite of Mr Ali’s family.

“Only recently, my father spoke about that,” Mr Marlinazrul said, adding that Mr Ali rarely spoke about his work to the children when they were younger and was more forthcoming only after his retirement in 1998.

In a 2015 interview with The New Paper, Mr Ali said Mr Lee had asked the roomful of pressmen if he could stop briefly. He was choking and tearing, and the room fell quiet except for the whirring of the TV camera.

While the other photographers did not dare to raise their cameras to shoot Mr Lee wiping his tears, Mr Ali gathered his courage and started “shooting from the hip”.

He told TNP: “As I was doing so, I could feel my heart beating so hard against my chest. I was half-expecting Mr Lee to look up and scold me. The scolding never came.”

Mr Ali also remembered vividly the elated look on the face of then chief editor Wee Kim Wee when he was told that Mr Ali was the only print press photographer who had the shot.

Mr Wee later became Singapore’s fourth president.

Mr Sunny Wee, a former associate news editor who spent 15 years at ST, said Mr Ali gave confidence to reporters covering tough events by assuring them that he would protect them.

“He also had a great sense of humour. I once asked him why he drove a two-door Ford Capri and he replied that if he were to drive a four-door, people might mistake him for a driver,” Mr Sunny Wee added.

Mr David Kraal, a friend and the former editor of the now-defunct New Nation, said Mr Ali was “one of the originals at New Nation when we got off the ground in January 1971”.

“He was the chief photographer in a two-man photo department – difficult to believe in this day and age when The Straits Times and other newspapers are overflowing with staffers.

“We managed, somehow, mostly by sheer hard work, talent and pride in standing and working together, to prove that we would not just lie down and be docile understaffed underdogs,” he said.

“Ali and his tiny department played a key role in giving the New Nation a proud reputation in journalism in Singapore.”

Former politician Yatiman Yusof was the editor of Malay newspapers Berita Harian and Berita Minggu in the late 1970s when he knew Mr Ali.

He said Mr Ali was “a rare photographer”.

“His ability to produce shots that were unique in style, yet strong in conveying the news angle, was well known to news writers and editors. He was a man of few words but had lots of talent and creativity.

“You just needed to tell him what you wanted, and he would come back with astonishing shots,” Mr Yatiman added.

Retired ST senior editor Sia Cheong Yew echoed the sentiment, calling Mr Ali an excellent news photographer who was “always ready for breaking news” and would not mind last-minute assignments, even those outside his work hours.

“With his reliable Rolleiflex, he shot many great news pictures. One memorable one he took was when we covered the Ngee Ann student riot at City Hall in 1966. He snapped a shot of a student beating up a policeman at close range and it made the front page the next day,” Mr Sia said.

Mr Ali was also one of the pioneers in supersonic travel when he flew on the Concorde in 1972, which Mr Marlinazrul believes was his father’s proudest moment.

“Since his passing on Sunday, we have received numerous messages, e-mails and calls from his friends and former colleagues. It was so heart-warming to know and hear of all the great and wonderful things being said about him,” Mr Marlinazrul said. 

“In our eyes, he was our hero – a loving husband, an incredible father, and an amazing grandfather and great-grandfather. Since the death of our mother on Jan 14, 2018, we had spent more quality time (with him) to fill the void that our mother left,” he added. 

Mr Ali leaves three children, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.