His son Nasir said the body will be taken to the neighbourhood mosque in Taman Melewar for prayers before burial at the Raudhatul Sakinah cemetery in Kuala Lumpur at 10.45am.

Ahmad was a well-respected composer, musician and singer who had written over 2,000 songs, including film scores for hit movies.

He composed the song “Malaysia Truly Asia” performed by Khadijah Ibrahim, which became a hallmark of Malaysia’s tourist promotion efforts.

“It is a sad day for the music industry as we mourn the loss of someone who has contributed immeasurably to the industry,” Persatuan Karyawan Malaysia chairman Freddie Fernandez told FMT.

“He may be gone, but his songs will live on forever.”

Ahmad was born in 1932 in Penang. He and his brother, Akbar Khan, learnt music from their father, who was from Pakistan.

Akbar, who was also a renowned composer and musician, died in August at the age of 86.

Ahmad worked alongside popular artistes such as P Ramlee, Saloma, Sudirman Arshad and Sharifah Aini and was also instrumental in promoting the careers of prominent figures such as Jamal Abdillah, Khadijah Ibrahim and Ramlah Ram.

Ahmad produced more than 200 albums which also featured Indonesian artistes such as Hetty Koes Endang and Broery Marantika.

Ahmad served with the RTM Orchestra for 17 years and won numerous awards, including the Anugerah Merak Kayangan (Best Song) for his first composition, Bintang Malam, in 1980.

He received an honorary doctorate in writing from Universiti Putra Malaysia in 2000.