"When I am gone, who is going to take care of you?"

Those were the words uttered by the late PAS spiritual leader, Allahyarham Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, to his wife Tuan Sabariah Tuan Ishak just three days before his passing.

"Those were his last words to me. My heart aches and cries every time I think about my husband not being with me anymore, for the rest of my life," Tuan Sabariah said during an interview with a local Malay daily a day after the Kelantan menteri besar's death last Thursday.

To lose a husband after 53 years of marriage has certainly affected her deeply. The mother-of-10 said those words were expressed to her by her beloved husband while he was in University of Science Malaysia Hospital (HUSM) for his cancer treatment.

"I smiled and just held his hand.

"And then I said, 'Don't you worry, our children can take care of me, until my time comes.

"Even though at the time, I couldn't bear the sadness," Tuan Sabariah said as she tried to fight back tears.

She said she missed him dearly, although it has only been a day since her husband passed.

Throughout their marriage, the couple had been blessed with 10 kids -- five boys and five girls.