Two ministers will represent Malaysia at the state funeral for Pope Francis in the Vatican on Saturday, the foreign ministry said.
In a statement today, Wisma Putra said the two are law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said and entrepreneur development and cooperatives minister Ewon Benedick.
Ewon had represented the government to sign the condolence book at the Vatican Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has previously paid tribute to the late pontiff for his compassion and humanity.
He said the pope had always advocated for peace and was greatly respected even by Muslims for his consistent efforts to build bridges across faiths and cultures.
Francis died on April 21 after a stroke and subsequent heart failure, hours after delivering the traditional Easter blessing from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica.
He had spent five consecutive weeks in hospital with double pneumonia in February and March.
The state funeral will include a solemn mass at St Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
Following the mass, a ceremonial procession will accompany Francis’s remains to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, where he will be laid to rest in a private interment.
