Maniku, 80, passed away late Saturday evening while receiving treatment at the intensive care unit of Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore. In a statement, the President’s Office said minister Umar would depart to Singapore Sunday evening. He would participate in the funeral to be held Monday afternoon as a special envoy of the president, it added. President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom sent condolences Sunday as he declared three days of mourning after the passing away of one of the most prominent business tycoons of the Maldives. President Yameen called Maniku’s son, Dr Mohamed Ali and sent condolences. The president noted that he received the news of Maniku’s passing with immense sadness. According to the President’s Office, the president hailed the invaluable and loyal services rendered to the nation by Maniku. The president noted that Maniku had played a vital role in the national development of the Maldives, especially economic progress, the statement added. Following Maniku’s passing, the president declared three days of mourning and ordered the national flag be flown at half mast till Tuesday. Maniku joined public service in 1958 and served in several government posts until 2008, when he resigned from the post of special advisor to the president. He had served as the vice president under former president Ibrahim Nasir. The business tycoon had served at the helm of the Maldives National Shipping Limited (MNSL) since its inception in early 1960s. “I spent most of my life as a servant of the government,” Maniku wrote in his memoir. According to his memoir, Maniku was sent to neighbouring Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) in 1947 with the assistance of then Prime Minister Mohamed Amin not for studies, but for medical treatment. His thirst for knowledge, however, made him stay back in Sri Lanka and join fellow countrymen who had been studying in the South Asian neighbour at the time. But in Colombo, Maniku went a step further and took it upon himself to serve the nation. He dropped out of school at 15 and became an entrepreneur. Maniku was involved in almost every major national event that had transpired during his lifetime, including the construction of the Maldives’ main airport and introduction of modern telecommunication service to the Maldives through a joint venture between the government and UK’s Cable and Wireless. He was also one of the top aides of then Prime Minister Nasir during his struggle to secure independence for the Maldives from the British. Having resigned from his official government post in 2008, Maniku moved to Singapore where he had spent much of his life since then.