LEGENDARY Indonesian singer Lilis Suryani died on Sunday after suffering from womb cancer for the past four years. She was 59.

Berita Harian Singapore yesterday reported that the singer, remembered by fans for her gentle and sweet voice, died at her home in east Jakarta.

Her friend, singer Ernie Djohan, had said at a concert in Singapore last August that the singer had stopped chemotherapy as she felt the treatment was not effective.

The concert at the Singapore Expo was organised to raise funds for her medical bills, and those of actress Azean Irdawaty, who has breast cancer, and singer Ismail Kasdi, who had a stroke.

Lilis was born in Jakarta and got her first singing engagement at 16, when she sang for the Gita Rama band led by the late Indonesian composer Mus K. Wirya.

From 1963 to 1966, she received the Most Loved Singer award given by Radio Republic Indonesia. Her self-composed song Paduka Yang Mulia was also the most played song at that time.