He served under both Indian National Congress and Communist Party of India Chief Ministers (E. M. S. Namboodiripad, C. Achutha Menon, K. Karunakaran, A. K. Antony, and P. K. Vasudevan Nair).

[7] Koya died suddenly due to a massive hemorrhagic stroke on 28 September, 1983 while serving as the Deputy Chief Minister of Kerala.

His dead body was flown back to Thiruvananthapuram, and later transported to his native place, where he was buried with full state honours.

"Koya was known his eloquent oratory and was described by scholar R. E. Miller as "grassroots star of the Mappila community" and the "ranking hero of Muslim youth" in Kerala.

[3] Koya is remembered for his "spirited" reply to Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India when the latter publicly criticized Indian Union Muslim League as "a dead horse" at Kozhikode (1955).