Entrepreneur, IT and telecommunications expert Azli Paat passed away today.

Azli, 47, who helped spur the development of the SMS content industry in Malaysia died at his house in Segambut at 6.45pm.

Friends close to him said he had been ill over the last few days.

The two-time award winner of the Asia Pacific ICT Awards (APICTA) was known as a 'serial innovator' who introduced the SMS shortcode keyword DAPAT (32728).

He was also instrumental in the creation of the unified mySMS 15888 shortcode for the Malaysian government, which allows seamless messaging across all telcos for the public services in the country.

Seeing the need for the public to have a channel to assist the police in reducing crime, Azli also spreadheaded the community-oriented policing SMS service RakanCOP.

He was also board member and president of the Mobile Content Providers Association of Malaysia.

Among friends, he is described as humble, witty, resourceful and was never calculative.

Azli's ability to provide explanation and answers to on air questions on IT, internet, and entrepreneurship in Bahasa Malaysia made him a popular guest on radio stations such as KLFM, where he first made his name as an IT pundit in the 90s.

His voice was often heard early in the morning, mid afternoon, or even late night on various radio and TV shows. He was also a regular guest on Astro Awani.

Azli’s funeral will be held at Kampung Pedada Kuning, in Batu Pahat, on Thursday.


Below are some of the tweets on Azli’s passing: