Close friends of Shaifudin told FMT that he passed away at 6.15pm, after complaining of fatigue and body aches.

“His wife told me that she came home from work and saw him lying in bed. He was complaining of fatigue and body aches, so he asked his wife to rub ointment on him,” said Rushdan Mohamed.

“Shortly after that he fell unconscious and he was gone,” Rushdan said, adding he was shocked to hear that Shaifudin had passed on, as the blogger had put up a new posting only this afternoon.

Another friend and fellow blogger, Syed Akbar Ali said he was sad to hear of his friend’s passing.

“He used the name Din Turtle because he was a diving guide in Terengganu. He was among the earliest of former pro-Umno bloggers who did not agree with the way the present regime was behaving and running things,” said Syed, who runs the popular OutSyed The Box blog.

“He became a strong and forceful critic of the government. Din was an independent thinker. We will miss his critical writing and forceful views,” he told FMT.

Shaifudin began blogging in 2008. Prior to that, he ran a souvenir stall. His Din Turtle original blog has attracted more than 3.5 million unique visitors.

FMT understands that Shaifudin will be buried in the Muslim cemetery near Primula Hotel in Kuala Terengganu at 10.00am tomorrow