Datuk Seri Utama Ab Rauf bin Yusoh  (Jawi: اب رؤوف بن يوسف; born 20 September 1961) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the 13th chief minister of Melaka since March 2023 and Member of the Melaka State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Tanjung Bidara since November 2021. He served as Senior Member of the Melaka State Executive Council (EXCO) in the Barisan Nasional (BN) state administration under former Chief Minister Sulaiman Md Ali from November 2021 to his promotion to the chief ministership in March 2023 and Speaker of the Melaka State Legislative Assembly from May 2020 to October 2021. He is a Member of Supreme Council and Division Chief of Masjid Tanah of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of the BN coalition. He has also served as the State Chairman of BN and UMNO of Melaka since July 2018.[1][2]

On 11 May 2020, Ab Rauf was elected as Speaker of the Melaka State Legislative Assembly to replace Omar Jaafar of PH after BN took over the state administration from PH on 9 March 2020. On 4 November 2021, he announced that the assembly had been dissolved after Chief Minister Sulaiman lost the majority support in the assembly due to the withdrawal support for him as Chief Minister  by 4 MLAs.

In the 2021 Melaka state election, Ab Rauf made his electoral debut and was nominated by BN to contest for the Tanjung Bidara seat replacing the retiring MLA Md Rawi Mahmud. In the tightly contested election, he garnered 3,559 votes in total and narrowly defeated Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate Mas Ermieyati Samsudin who was also the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of Parliament and Law as well as Member of Parliament (MP) for Masjid Tanah by a slim majority of only 364 votes.

On 26 November 2021, Chief Minister Sulaiman appointed Ab Rauf as a Senior EXCO member for the portfolios of Investment, Industry, Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives.[3] As the only Senior EXCO member, Ab Rauf was the de facto Deputy Chief Minister and second most powerful person in the state government of Melaka after Sulaiman. As the Senior EXCO member, Ab Rauf worked closely with the governmental organisations of the state such as Unit Perancangan Ekonomi Negeri (UPEN) Melaka, Malaysia Investment and Development Authority (MIDA), Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Melaka (PKNM) as well as other local and international private companies and corporations. He also helped the state to secure various development projects and direct investments. Among the notable ones is the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) railway network that applies the Magnetic Levitation (MagLev) technology and connects all the districts of the state.[4][5][6][7][8]

On 31 March 2023, Ab Rauf was sworn in and appointed as the 13th Chief Minister of Melaka to take over Sulaiman[9] who was confirmed to resign as Chief Minister two days ago on 29 March 2023.[10] There were frequent speculations and rumours that Sulaiman was forced to resign as Chief Minister by Ab Rauf as well as Ab Rauf and Sulaiman had fallen out as the former who was the Melaka BN and UMNO Chairman was not appointed as Chief Minister after the 2021 state election, breaking the convention of the leader of the largest political coalition and party being appointed as the Chief Minister.[11] Instead, Melaka UMNO Secretary Sulaiman was reappointed.[12] However, both have also frequently denied the speculations and rumours. Before being appointed to the position, Deputy Prime Minister and BN Chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi explained that the decision of Sulaiman to resign was due to his "health problems", which have been questioned by many[13] and proposed only Ab Rauf to Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Melaka Mohd Ali Rustam to be appointed as the new Chief Minister.[14] His appointment also met criticisms from fellow BN Rembia MLA Muhammad Jailani Khamis who labelled him a "backdoor" Chief Minister. On the criticism of Jailani who broke rank with the party not to support him, he took the "wait and see" approach before deciding on any disciplinary actions against Jailani[15] and urged him not to be a "hero" who get cheap political publicity by breaking rank with the party and criticising him.[16] On the possibility of forming a coalition government with Pakatan Harapan (PH) by appointing PH MLAs to his EXCO, similar to the coalition government at the federal level, Ab Rauf added that he had yet to receive an indication from the central leadership of his party. He assured that his EXCO line-up would be finalised and unveiled in two days after discussions on it with Ahmad Zahid. He also pledged to make Melaka an investor-friendly state. He also noted that Melaka is the most politically stable state in Malaysia given that BN had gained a landslide victory in the 2021 state election. He characterised his upcoming EXCO lineup as inclusive and reflective of the coalition government at the federal level, indirectly confirming that his EXCO would consist of BN and PH MLAs and described it as pro-business and pro-reform.[17] Ahmad Zahid also indirectly confirmed it. On 1 April 2023, Ab Rauf directly confirmed it and asked the people to expect an exemplary, appealing and attractive EXCO lineup.[18] On 3 April 2023, Ab Rauf revealed that his EXCO will most likely be sworn in and appointed two days later on 5 April 2023 and the lineup had been accepted by Ahmad Zahid on 2 April 2023.[19] On 5 April 2023, his EXCO was sworn in. He retained 7 EXCO members of the Sulaiman II EXCO and appointed three new EXCO members. The lineup consists of 10 BN MLAs and only 1 PH MLA.[20] He also promoted Melaka UMNO Deputy Chairman Rais Yasin to Senior EXCO Member, a rank previously held by him, effectively making him the de facto Deputy Chief Minister and second most powerful person in the state government of Melaka after Ab Rauf and announced the reestablishment of the position of Deputy EXCO Member that was abolished in 2018.[21] He added that the 10 EXCO members would have a deputy respectively and the 10 Deputy EXCO members were to be unveiled on 6 April 2023. He also rubbished the allegations that the appointments of Deputy EXCO Members are wastes of resources and money as he wanted all MLAs to be given roles to work with him on developing the state. On 6 April 2023, he demoted Low Chee Leong and Zaidi Attan to Deputy EXCO Members. Both of them previously served as EXCO Members. Demotion is rare in the Malaysian politics. After announcing the lineup of Deputy EXCO Members, he invited the two Melaka Opposition and PN MLAs to join his government in an effort to form a unity government, which is a government that has no opposition and comprises all Melaka MLAs. If it is done, it would be the first ever unity government in Melaka and Malaysia.[22] He also added that he preferred finding similarities with Jailani than taking action against him. However, on 7 April 2023, his invitation was turned down by State Leader of the Opposition Mohd Yadzil Yaakub as they would like to check and balance the state government and not cross over for personal interests.[23]


Datu Patinggi Abang Haji Abdillah (13 October 1862 – 21 November 1946) was a Malaysian politician in Sarawak who participated in the movement opposing cessation to the British Empire. He was the son of Datu Bandar Abang Haji Mohammad Kassim; who served as mayor of Kuching under the White Rajah's administration. He was also the grandson of Datu Bandar Abang Haji Bolhassan and a descendant of Datu Patinggi Ali who fought to achieve Sarawak's independence from Brunei. After the death of his father in Mecca, in 1921, he was given the title Datu Muda. In 1924, he became the Datu Bandar and then in 1937 he was given the title Datu Patinggi.

Abdillah stated his support for the anti-cession movement of Sarawak as such:

"My people and I would never agree with the cession of Sarawak to the British Crown!...We cherish the independence of this state where we were born..."

"Saya dan rakyat tidak bersetuju dengan penyerahan Sarawak kepada Tanah Jajahan Mahkota British!...Saya dan rakyat mencintai kemerdekaan negeri ini, tanah tumpah darah saya..."

In a meeting with British officials, he protested the cession of Sarawak to the British Empire; claiming that the cession was illegal as it was not accepted by majority of the Sarawakian. Abdillah was a major proponent of reinstating Anthony Walter Dayrell Brooke as the fourth White Rajah of Sarawak. However, the cession occurred and he resigned from the State Supreme Council in response. He then started to oppose the British government in his speeches; however, Abdillah opposed the use of violence to prevent cessation. All government officials in Sarawak, European and Asian alike, were sent Circular no.9, which stated that they would be fired if any of them continued to support the anti-cession movement. Perhaps following the footsteps of Datu Patinggi, many of the Sarawakian officials resigned from their posts. Abdillah continued to oppose the cession of Sarawak to Britain until his death in 1946.[1][2]

As a community leader, Abdillah worked to establish good relations between the Dayaks and Malays. Unfortunately, after his death the anti-cession movement lost its momentum and quickly became disorganised without a leader. The violent techniques used by some anti-cessionists activists, such as assassinating colonial officials, decreased support for the movement. Britain ruled Sarawak until the formation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963. A school was built in his name to honour, Kolej Datu Patinggi Abang Haji Abdillah.


Dato' Sri Amar DiRaja Abdul Rahman bin Dato' Wan Andak DK SPMJ CMG (13 June 1859 – 10 September 1930), was a campaigner for  Johor's independence when the British were trying to extend their influence throughout Malaysia. From modest origins, in 1878 he was recruited into the Johor Civil Service.[1] He was appointed State Secretary of Johor in 1893 and for twenty years he was adviser to Sultan Abu Bakar and Sultan Ibrahim.

Abdul Rahman was the son of Andak bin Meng, a minor government official, with his first wife Hawa Binti Abdullah. When in 1871 the childless Maharaja Abu Bakar sent a nephew, Ungku Othman, to be educated in England Andak was sent too in recognition of his potential. Following his graduation Andak was recruited into the Johor Civil Service in 1878.[2]

He became the Private Secretary to Maharajah Abu Bakar in 1884 and in 1885 he was selected by the Maharajah as one of his senior advisers to negotiate the Anglo-Johor Treaty with the British Governor Sir Frederick Weld. Under this treaty the British recognized Abu Bakar as Sultan of Johor and the Treaty became a buffer for Johor against further British colonial designs in the region. In  1886 Andak received the Order of the Crown of Johor (DPMJ) (Second Class) and the honorific title of Dato’ Sri Amar DiRaja. Andak received the Order of the Crown of Johor (SPMJ) (First Class) in 1892 and was appointed State Secretary of Johor in 1893 with a seat on the State Council.

For twenty years he was advisor to Sultan Abu Bakar (Sultan of Johor 1862-1895) and Sultan Ibrahim (Sultan of Johor 1895-1959). Andak's influence over Sultan Abu Bakar lead to the Sultan becoming increasingly reluctant to accept British advice. Andak drafted the Johor Constitution, the first to be written by any of the Malay States, and which became law in 1894.[1][2] He represented Johor on behalf of the sultan leading an entourage to the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago following an invitation from the United States Consul-General to Singapore Rounsevelle Wildman.[3]

Andak was the founder of the Pakatan Belajar Mengajar Pengetahuan Bahasa ("Language Knowledge Teaching Pact), a literary society which increased the usage of the Malay language and made it the official language of the government;[1] the body was also responsible for introducing neologisms expressing new ideas of governance brought with British influence.[4] It later became the Royal Society of Malay Literature of Johor.

A Freemason, he was initiated into the Lodge of St George No 1152 in Singapore in 1889.[5]

The British Government attempted to stop the government of Johor from receiving advice from its own Johor Advisory Board in London and also attempted to build a railway line across Johor. Seeing Andak as a threat to their plans, they also attempted to force his resignation. Cecil Clementi Smith wrote of him "as a clever little fellow but an absolute nobody among the Malay aristocrats". Other descriptions include "corrupt" and "a mischievous little dog". Frank Swettenham denigrated him as “a bad adviser for anyone, quite unscrupulous... and dangerous because he speaks English and has to do with Europeans all his life." Eventually he was dismissed by Sultan Ibrahim and sent into forced exile in London in April 1909 with an annual pension of £1,000. In England Andak oversaw the education of Sultan Ibrahim's sons Ismail (who succeeded his father as Sultan), Abu Bakar and Ahmad while they were attending schools in London.[1][2]

Andak married twice, firstly to Che' Lembek, who died in 1885 and with whom he had a daughter, Rahmah. He later married Auguste "Gustel" Reis (died 1933), who after the marriage took the name of Auguste Abdul Rahman and lived with her in London where they had three sons, Henry, Mansor and Walter.

He died in London on 10 September 1930 and was buried in the Muslim section of Brookwood Cemetery near Woking in Surrey. His wife died on 30 March 1933 and was buried beside him.


Cik Dat bin Anjang Abdullah (2 October 1923 – 13 January 2024), commonly known as Abdullah CD, was a Malaysian politician who served as chairman and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM).[1]

Abdullah was born on 2 October 1923 in Parit, Perak to Malay parents of Minangkabau descent.[2] His political involvement was sparked by interest in the Maharajalela Wars against the British.[3] As a young man, he joined the Kesatuan Melayu Muda (KMM). He became the secretary of the KMM in the Lambor district in Perak during the early stages of the Japanese Occupation.

After World War II, Abdullah CD was involved in the setting up of the Malay Nationalist Party (or in Malay, the Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Muda / PKMM) in October 1945 with other early leftist Malay leaders such as Mokhtaruddin Lasso, Dr. Burhanuddin al-Helmy, Ahmad Boestamam, Ishak Haji Muhammad, amongst others.[4]

He was also responsible for organising the Malay labour movement and was elected as the vice-president of the Pan-Malayan Federation of Trade Unions (PMFTU).

Not long before the declaration of emergency in Malaya in June 1948 by the British colonial government, Abdullah CD, Dr Burhanuddin Helmi and Ahmad Boestamam conducted a meeting to discuss the conditions and steps to be taken in the struggle for Malayan independence. When the British declared an emergency, Abdullah led many members from the CPM, PKMM, API (Angkatan Pemuda Insaf), AWAS and PETA into an anti-British guerrilla revolution in the jungles of Malaya. In July 1948, he was captured in north Pahang, but he managed to escape.

On 12 May 1949, Abdullah started the 10th Regiment of the CPM in Temerloh, Pahang.[5]

Abdullah was involved in many armed battles against the British and suffered serious injuries from a hand grenade explosion.[6]

Abdullah CD continued to be the leader of the 10th Regiment until peace was achieved in 1989. [7]

On 2 December 1989, he was one of the signatories of the peace agreement between the CPM and the government of Malaysia, finally ending the period of armed struggle.[8]

Abdullah CD was married to Suriani Abdullah (née Eng Ming Ching), also a leader of the CPM in February 1955. They remained married in Sukhirin, Thailand until Suriani's death in 2013.[9]

On 3 October 2023, Abdullah CD celebrated his 100th birthday, surrounded by well-wishers and former party members in the peace village in Sukhirin.[10] He died at the Sukhirin Peace Village in Narathiwat, Thailand on 13 January 2024.[11] He underwent a period of ailing health before his death.[12]


Abu Samah Mohd Kassim (February 1926 - 7 April 2009) was one of central committee member of the Malayan Communist Party during 1975. He was an important Malay communist in the 1970s.

Abu Samah was born in the district of Semantan, Temerloh, Pahang. Dato' Bahaman, a well-known Malay leader whom headed the rebellion against British intervention in politics and the administration of Pahang in 1891–1892, is his great-granduncle.

During 1946, he joined the nationalist movement and became a member of the Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya and Angkatan Pemuda Insaf. In 1948, he joined the armed struggle for independence through 10th Regiment, the Malayan National Liberation Army. Under the order of Malayan Communist Party, in 1953, he moved from the forest in Pahang to the south of Thailand until 1989, along with the 10th Regiment. From 1969 to 1976, he led the group of troops, around 40 people, to Hulu Kelantan. He had fought with the Malaysian military during Operasi Gonzales.

At the age of 80, he settled in Sukhirin District, Narathiwat Province, southern Thailand, with Abdullah CD and the former members of the 10th Regiment, who chose not to return to Malaysia.

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Adnan bin Abu Hassan (born 17 February 1969) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kuala Pilah since November 2022. He served as Member of the Negeri Sembilan State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Senaling from May 2018 to August 2023 and for Pilah from March 2008 to May 2013. He is a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of the BN coalition.[1]


Ahmad Johnie bin Zawawi (born 1963) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Igan since May 2018. He is also the non-executive Chairman of Indah Water since 2020. He is a member of the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), a component party of the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and formerly Barisan Nasional (BN) coalitions.

Johnie was born in Daro and obtained a bachelor's degree in political science from National University of Malaysia (UKM) in 1986.[1][2] He used to work at the Royal Malaysian Customs Department from 1988 to 2000 before becoming the Chief Operating Officer of The Sarawak Press and Warta Distributions (2000-2004), as well as WHS Holdings (2004-2015).[1]

He contested for Igan as the then ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate at the 2018 election and defeated the Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Andri Zulkarnaen Hamden.[3]

On 13 May 2020, Johnie was appointed non-executive Chairman of Indah Water by the then Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.[2]

Johnie has three children with his wife.[1] He is of Melanau descent.[1]


Ahmad Kamil bin Jaafar (27 August 1937 – 3 April 2021) was a Malaysian politician and diplomat.[1]

Jaafar was born in the Kulim District and attended Malay College Kuala Kangsar and the University of Malaya. He served as Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from April 1989 to August 1996 and was Ambassador of Malaysia to Switzerland, China, Japan, and Thailand.[2] He was then the Prime Minister's Special Envoy to the Non-Aligned Movement, where he was highly respected due to his English language proficiency.[3]

On 30 March 2011, an exhibition of paintings by Malaysian ambassadors was displayed at the National Visual Arts Gallery in Kuala Lumpur, which included works owned by Jaafar.[4]

Ahmad Kamil Jaafar died on 3 April 2021 at the age of 83.[5]

This Malaysia diplomat-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.


Ahmad Zaidi Adruce bin Muhammed Noor (29 March 1924 – 5 December 2000) was the fifth Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak (Governor of Sarawak).[1] He was the longest-serving governor of Sarawak (in consecutive terms from a single appointment), from his inaugural in 1985, to his death in 2000.[2] He was also remembered as the first Sarawakian Bumiputera to receive a MA Degree from a British university (University of Edinburgh).[3]

Ahmad Zaidi was born on 29 March 1924 to Muhammad Noor (father) and Siti Saadiah (mother) on a small boat on the Rajang River near Kampung Semop, Daro, Sarawak. His father was a farmer while his mother was a housewife.[4][5] He was adopted by descendents of Syarif Masahor (a Rajang basin chief that opposed Brooke rule from 1860 to 1862). Sharifah Mai was a daughter of Syarif Masahor. She has a unmarried daughter named Sharifah Dayang Aisah who later adopted Ahmad Zaidi. Sharifah Mai also has a childless son named Wan Abu Bakar Adruce.[4]

Ahmad Zaidi Adruce was married to Hjh Hamsiah Bte Hj Ismail (born 22 November 1923) and had eight children. During his exile in Indonesia, he later married Toh Puan Datuk Patinggi Hajjah Rosmiati Kendati, and had four more children.[citation needed]

At 5 years old, he was sent to two schools, Chung Hua and also Abang Ali in Sibu, where he developed interest in poetry, gymnastic and acting. At age 12 he passed his standard seven exam with exemplary marks – which at the time was an achievement far beyond what was expected of a young man born and raised in Sarawak. Ahmad Zaidi was an exceptionally bright student, who was always either first or second in class throughout his primary and secondary education. After his standard seven exam, he moved to Kuching to further his studies and joined St. Thomas school in 1936, where he graduated with a Junior Cambridge qualification in 1938. Out of 63 students, he was among the seven who passed – and of the seven, Ahmad Zaidi was the only bumiputera. He joined an Anglo-Chinese school in Singapore in 1938 and graduated in 1939 at 15 years old with a Cambridge School Certificate, and was at the time the only bumiputera to have achieved such an honour.

In November 1940, Ahmad Zaidi joined the Sultan Idris College in Tanjung Malim, Perak, where he studied until the Japanese invasion in 1941, when he was forced to flee to Singapore. In 1942 he was sent to Java to study Veterinary Medicine at Buitenzorg College in Bogor. He did not complete his veterinary training when the war ended in 1945 and was instead pulled into fighting against the Dutch in Indonesia, where he witnessed first-hand the early days of the Indonesian National Revolution. In 1947, he returned to Sarawak where he was then appointed as a teacher at Batu Lintang Training Center. During that year he also set up the first Sea Scout movement in Borneo and took his students sailing as far as Tanjung Datu on the western tip of Borneo Island and as far north to the Saribas River, an enterprise that would later help him establish an intelligence and underground movement to assist the Republic of Indonesia in their guerilla warfare against the Dutch.

In 1949, the British awarded Ahmad Zaidi a four-year Colonial Development and Welfare scholarship to further his studies at the Robert Gordons Technical College in Aberdeen before he was enrolled to the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom.[2] On 28 May 1953, he was invited to represent Sarawakian students to attend the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II where he also met with Temenggong Jugah. Ahmad Zaidi secured his MA degree in Political Economy in 1953 from the University of Edinburgh and later secured a Certificate in Education from the University of London in 1955. Upon his return to Sarawak, he was promoted to the post of supervisor at a training college and later became the acting president of the Barisan Pemuda Sarawak in 1956 which was an organisation that united the bumiputeras to work towards the independence of Sarawak. He met with Tan Sri Ghazali Shafie and later with Tunku Abdul Rahman to support the movement towards the formation of Malaysia.

Ahmad Zaidi Adruce had a turbulent political career. His involvement in politics began in earnest while he was studying at Buitenzorg College (Current Bogor Agricultural University) in Bogor, then Japanese-occupied Netherlands East Indies (present-day Indonesia).[citation needed]

Ahmad Zaidi was opposed to colonialist ideology, and the experiences of being discriminated while in the United Kingdom did little to endear his feelings towards the colonial government that ruled over his people. The buildup for the movement towards independence had become so intense that there were even plots to either arrest or assassinate Ahmad Zaidi for being a very public rebel to the colonial government. He knew that at that stage even if Sarawak was able to attain independence, the machineries for the new Malaysian government will mostly be influenced by those Sarawakians who had worked for the colonial government. In the transition phase towards the formation of a new government, he received insider information that some of the expatriates who worked under the colonial administration preferred that he be eliminated for fear of revenge if Ahmad Zaidi became in control. He was dubbed a traitor by British authorities and supporters including many of the expatriates in the Sarawak government because of his strong influence and involvement in Barisan Pemuda Sarawak and suspected connection with Indonesia during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation.[citation needed]

He was then abducted from Sarawak by his sympathizers and later went into self-exile in Indonesia until he was given amnesty by the Malaysian government in 1969, a move strongly supported by Tun Abdul Rahman Ya'kub, where the latter was a federal minister at the time.[citation needed]

After exiled for six months in Jakarta, Indonesia, Ahmad Zaidi was convinced that his troubles had died down. On 12 May 1969, he telephoned Normah Abdullah, the wife of chief minister of Sarawak at that time, Abdul Rahman Ya'kub to go back to Kuala Lumpur. However, Normah warned Ahmad Zaidi of brewing racial riots in Kuala Lumpur. The racial riots later developed into 13 May incident. Ahmad Zaidi returned to Kuching, Sarawak instead. Ahmad Zaidi also found that his step-father Wan Abu Bakar Adruce, Ahmad Zaidi's own son Bujang, and Anie Dhoby (brother of Rosli Dhoby) joined Sarawak National Party (SNAP). Stephen Kalong Ningkan, the former Sarawak chief minister and the leader of the SNAP party, invited Ahmad Zaidi to lead the Malay faction in the party. However, Ahmad Zaidi decided to retire from politics. Later, some members of the public still questioned him regarding his loyalty to Sarawak. Ahmad Zaidi again decided to take a break in the Java island, Indonesia.[4]

In 1970s, Ahmad Zaidi became uneasy with the governing style of United Sabah National Organisation (USNO) on Sabah people. Ahmad Zaidi later developed good relationship with Harris Salleh, one of the leaders of the Sabah People's United Front (BERJAYA party). One month before the 1974 Malaysian general election, Ahmad Zaidi discovered a plot to kidnap Harris. Ahmad Zaidi informed Harris about the plot and the latter successfully escaped from the plot. In 1976 Sabah state election, although Ahmad Zaidi was a Sarawak cabinet minister, he openly campaigned for Harris's BERJAYA party. BERJAYA won the state election, ousting USNO from power. However, Harris involvement in Sabah politics gained animosity with several Sabah local leaders. They complained to chief minister of Sarawak Abdul Rahman Ya'kub. Later, Ahmad Zaidi found himself sidelined from Sarawak state politics. There were also rumours where Ahmad Zaidi would be replaced in his own Kalaka state constituency.[4]

When the Ming Court Affair was brewing in 1985, Abdul Taib Mahmud, the chief minister of Sarawak at that time, decided to remove the governor Abdul Rahman Ya'kub from office due dispute between them. Yang di-Pertuan Agong (king) of Malaysia at that time, Sultan Iskandar met Ahmad Zaidi privately. The king ordered Ahmad Zaidi to raise his hand to recite an oath of allegiance to the country.[4]

On 1 April 1985, Ahmad Zaidi Adruce was appointed as the fifth Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak (Governor) Sarawak before the Speaker at the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly.[4][6]

On 2 April 1985, he also took the oath of office in front of then king. He held the office for 15 years, the longest-serving governor in any Malaysian state without a hereditary ruler (in consecutive terms from a single appointment).[citation needed]

In 1974, while Ahmad Zaidi was taking a break in a family house in Bandung, Indonesia, he had a blackout and fractured his lumbar spine (lower backbone).[4]

Ahmad Zaidi Adruce served three terms before passing on peacefully on 5 December 2000, leaving behind a lasting legacy as a true nationalist and as his people's first scholar.[7] He was given a state funeral and was buried at Samariang Muslim Cemetery, Petra Jaya, Kuching.[8]

Several places were named after him, including:


Dato' Ali bin Haji Ahmad (29 June 1930 – 4 December 1977) was a Malaysian politician.

Ali was first elected to Parliament when he won the Pontian Selatan seat in the 1964 Malaysian general election under the Alliance ticket, a seat he successfully defended in the 1969 Malaysian general election unopposed.

Ali was the UMNO Division chief of Pontian after Pontian Selatan and Pontian Utara Parliamentary seat were merged before 1974 Malaysian general election.[2] In the election, he won the newly created seat, Pontian by a walkover.

Ali was first appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the then finance minister, Tan Siew Sin on 1965, in the third Tunku Abdul Rahman cabinet.[3] He continued as assistant to Tan Siew Sin to in the final cabinet of Tunku Abdul Rahman in 1969, and promoted to Deputy Finance Minister in the first cabinet of Tun Abdul Razak. His portfolio was switched to Deputy Minister of Home Affairs in the January 1973 cabinet reshuffle, after the admittance of Malaysian Islamic Party in the Alliance-led government.[4] In another Cabinet reshuffle on August the same year after the death of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs Ismail Abdul Rahman, he was appointed as Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports,[5] a post he retains in the 1974 Razak cabinet after the 1974 election. He holds this position until 1976, when his portfolio was changed to Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development under the new prime minister Hussein Onn's cabinet, his final position in the government.[6]

He was married to Datin Halimah Abdul Rahim, with 5 daughters.[7]

On 4 December 1977, while he was still Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, he was one of the passengers killed in Malaysian Airline System Flight 653 plane crash at Tanjung Kupang,[8] along with his press secretary Hood Fadzil.[9] Ali was 47 years old.[7] He was returning to Kuala Lumpur after a visit to Perlis.[10]

Parliament's Dewan Rakyat on the next day observed a minute silence before the start of meeting as a sign of respect of Ali and others who perished in the tragedy.[11][7]

The remains of Ali was buried, along with remains of other victims of the crash, in a common burial site at Jalan Kebun Teh, Johor Bahru.[12]

Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Dato` Ali Hj Ahmad, a secondary school in Pontian, Johor, is named after him.


Datuk Haji Aliasgar Bin Haji Basri (Jawi: علي أصغر بسري; born 25 February 1960) is a Malaysian politician currently living in Tuaran, Sabah, Malaysia. Aliasgar is an alumnus of Southern Illinois University.[1]

Aliasgar was born in the town of Tuaran of Sabah. He is married to Datin Hajjah Jumiah bt Ele and has a son and four daughters.

Besides contributing in politics, Aliasgar was also a radio presenter for  Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM).[2]

Aliasgar is currently the Warisan Malaysia Executive Secretary, Warisan Tuaran P170 Division Chief and Board Of Director Member for University Malaysia Sabah ( UMS ).[3]

Aliasgar started his education in Serusup Primary School of Tuaran in 1965. He continued his study at SMK Tuaran in 1971, and St John Secondary School, Tuaran in 1972 until 1976.

In 1982, he continued his studies in Bachelor of Science Management at the College of Business and Administration of the Southern Illinois University and got his bachelor's degree on 15 May 1985.[4][1]

In 1999, he continued his studies at the University Malaysia Sabah and completed his Master of Business Administration course on 12 September 2004.[5] He is among the first batch of 34 graduates to receive Master of Business Administration degrees from University Malaysia Sabah.[5]

Aliasgar has been politically active since college, where he joined various student affairs organisations notably the North American Student Association or Persatuan Mahasiswa Amerika Utara (PEMAU) which covers both America and Canada. Aliasgar was the President of PEMAU in 1985.[6]

Aliasgar was also among the founders of the first ever UMNO Club of the Malaysian political party UMNO in the USA. He was an exco for the Carbondale UMNO Club in the US from 1983 to 1986, during his studies at Southern Illinois University.

In the snap 2020 Sabah state election, at the age of 60 years, Aliasgar Basri was fielded by his party, Sabah Heritage Party or WARISAN to face a 3 cornered fight in the N12 – Sulaman state seat under the P170 Tuaran parliamentary seat, but lost.[7]

Aliasgar fought a three cornered fight between incumbent Assemblyman for Sulaman Hajiji Noor leader of the PN (BERSATU) and later became the Chief Minister and Rekan Stan from Love Sabah Party (PCS) in the recent state election.[8]

In the 1990 election, at a young age of 29 years old, Aliasgar was fielded by his party, Sabah People's United Front or BERJAYA to face a 7 cornered fight in the N11 – Sulaman state seat under the P137 Tuaran parliamentary seat, but lost.[9][10]

Aliasgar became one of the 20 Pro tem committee members (Malay:AJK Penaja) of the newly formed UMNO Sabah in 1991. He was also the UMNO Tuaran Division committee member (Malay: AJK Bahagian) and appointed as the UMNO Tuaran Division Youth Secretary (Malay:Setiausaha Pemuda Bahagian).

In 1994, Aliasgar was appointed as the Deputy Director General of the People's Development Leaders’ Unit (Malay: Unit Pemimpin Kemajuan Rakyat, UPKR) under the Chief Minister's Department of Sabah.[11]

In 1996, Aliasgar was appointed as the Director General of the People's Development Leaders’ Unit (Malay: Unit Pemimpin Kemajuan Rakyat, UPKR) under the Chief Minister's Department of Sabah.[11][12][13]

In 1998 party elections, Aliasgar contested for the UMNO Tuaran Division Youth Chief post (Malay: Ketua Pemuda Umno Tuaran) and won. He held the post until 2001.

Due to a major shuffle in the UMNO Malaysia Youth Movement in 1999, Aliasgar was appointed as the UMNO Sabah State Youth Information Chief (Malay :Ketua Penerangan Pemuda UMNO Sabah).[14]

In 2000, Aliasgar was appointed as committee member of the Malaysia Youth Executive Council (MBM).[15]

In the 2001 party elections, Aliasgar contested for the UMNO Tuaran Division Vice Chief (Malay: Naib Ketua Bahagian Tuaran), but lost.

In the 2004 party elections, Aliasgar contested for the UMNO Tuaran Division Deputy Chief (Malay:Timbalan Ketua Bahagian) and won.[16] He defeated former Divisional UMNO Chief af Tuaran, Datuk Yusof Manan.

In the 2007 party elections, Aliasgar contested for the UMNO Tuaran Division Deputy Chief (Malay:Timbalan Ketua Bahagian) and won. He defeated  Dato' Rahman Dahlan for the post.[16]

In 2007, Aliasgar was appointed as the Secretary of Sabah UMNO Training Bureau (Malay: Setiausaha Biro Latihan UMNO Sabah).

In 2007, Aliasgar was appointed as the UMNO Malaysia Training Bureau committee member (Malay: Ahli Jawatankuasa Biro Latihan UMNO Malaysia). During this time, he was involved in conducting more than hundred training courses around Malaysia.

In the 2010 party elections, Aliasgar contested to defend his post the UMNO Tuaran Division Deputy Chief (Malay: Timbalan Ketua Bahagian Tuaran). Aliasgar defeated Dato' Rahman Dahlan for the post.

However, in the 2013 party elections, Aliasgar decided not to defend his post and subsequently 'gave way' to Dato' Rahman Dahlan to win the post unopposed.[17]

In the 2020 Sabah state election, Aliasgar Basri was fielded by his party, Sabah Heritage Party or WARISAN in the N12 – Sulaman state seat under the P170 Tuaran parliamentary seat.[18]

In the 2022 party elections, Aliasgar contested for the WARISAN Tuaran Division Chief (Malay:Ketua Bahagian) and won. He defeated defending Chief, Rakam Sijim for the post and won with more than half majority.[16]

In 2023, Aliasgar was appointed as the Warisan Malaysia Executive Secretary (Malay: Setiausaha Kerja Pusat). [16]

Aliasgar has been appointed as a member of the University Board Of Director of Universiti Malaysia Sabah ( UMS ) on 16 August 2023. [19]

Upon recommendation by the Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Dato' Yusof Apdal, he believes Aliasgar's experience and knowledge will be beneficial to help the Board.

Aliasgar is one of the 13 Fellows from The Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia  of the Islamic Leadership Fellows Program, organised by Asian Institute of Management, Manila (AIM), with the collaboration of British Embassy in the Philippines. He was nominated by his alma mater Universiti Malaysia Sabah to participate in the program.[13]

Aliasgar is an active member of the Malaysia Youth Council (Majlis Belia Malaysia) in the 1990s during his early days while active in national politics. He is now an alumnus of the Alumni Majlis Belia Malaysia (Sabah) and currently holding the position of Vice President II for his alma mater.[20]

Aliasgar is an active member of the United Sabah BUMIS Organization (USBO) an organisation for the Bajau and other indigenous ethnic groups in Sabah. He is currently holding the position of Deputy President II for USBO. TS DSP Pandikar Amin Mulia delivered the letter of appointment to Aliasgar on 20Apr 2017.[21]

Aliasgar is an active member of the Radio Sabah Alumni Association (RASA) the alumnus group for Radio Televisyen Malaysia ex personnels. He is currently holding the position of Vice President for RASA.[2]

Aliasgar is an active member of the UMS Alumni Association or Pertubuhan Alumni UMS and was holding the position of Deputy President for his alma mater, University Malaysia Sabah.[22]


Amir Hamzah bin Abdul Hashim is a Malaysian politician from PAS. He is a member of Penang State Legislative Assembly representing Permatang Pasir since 2023.

Amir Hamzah is currently the Deputy Chief of PAS Permatang Pasir branch.[1]


Arifin bin Asgali is a Malaysian politician who has been the State Assistant Minister. He served as the Member of Sabah State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Sekong from May 2018 until September 2020. He is a member of the Sabah Heritage Party (WARISAN).[1][2]


Assaffal bin P. Alian is a Malaysian politician who has served as Member of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Tungku since May 2018. He served as the State Assistant Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment of Sabah in the Heritage Party (WARISAN) state administration under former Chief Minister Shafie Apdal and Minister Christina Liew Chin Jin from May 2018 to the collapse of the WARISAN state administration in September 2020. He is a member of WARISAN.[1][2]


Ationg Tituh is a Malaysian politician from Sabah region. He is the one who established and started the Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (GAGASAN), and also the inaugural president of the local party on 28 August 2013.[2][3][4][5][6][7] His political party is among the 20 official political parties registered in 2013.[8][9]

He began his political career as organization founder of Sabah Gagasan Rakyat Party in 2013 and he is very well known among Kinabatangan people as the "first ever president" of the local party that based in Kinabatangan, The Sabah Gagasan Rakyat Party in it's establishment in 2013 (Headquartered in Kota Kinabalu). He is also an organization founder of several Sabahan local Non-governmental organization. In 2018 to 2020, he began his action as political candidate for the Sabah elections after his party got well recognised after many contributions.[10][11]


Datuk Amar Haji Awang Tengah bin Ali Hasan (Jawi: اواڠ تڠه علي حسن; born 2 December 1956)[1] is a Malaysian politician who has served as Deputy Premier of Sarawak since May 2017 and Member of Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Bukit Sari since April 1987. He currently also holds the portfolio of Second Minister for Natural Resources and Urban Development and Minister for International Trade and Investment under the administration of Premier Abang Abdul Rahman Johari Abang Openg. Previously, he had also held other cabinet posts under previous premiers Abdul Taib Mahmud and Adenan Satem. Awang Tengah is a member of the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), a component party of the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition.[2]

Awang Tengah previously served as chairman of the Board of Management at the Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation. He also served as the Director of the Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation.[3]

He is currently the Deputy Premier of Sarawak to fill the vacancy after former Deputy Chief Minister Abang Johari Tun Openg has been appointed as the Premier of Sarawak, other portfolios he is currently serving are Minister of International Trade & Industry, Industrial Terminal & Entrepreneur Development Sarawak and Second Minister of Urban Development and Natural Resources.[4]


Raja Azam bin Raja Kamaralzaman (13 July 1918 – 1999), simply known as Raja Azam, was a Malaysian nobleman and politician whom formerly held the position of state secretary of Negeri Sembilan from 1960 to 1962, and State Secretary of Brunei from 1962 to 1964.[1]

On 13 July 1918 Raja Azam was born in Kuala Dipang, Perak.[2] He was the lone child of Raja Nasibah binti Raja Ismail and Raja Di-Hilir Kamaralzaman ibni Raja Mansur. He attended the Malay College in Kuala Kangsar, where his father also received his education, and where he served as head boy. He claimed, "From the start, we knew that we were being groomed for administrative positions," in a 1996 interview with the Sunday Star. A foundational course was given to him, including history, math, and English. After earning his Senior Cambridge in 1938 he continued his education at Raffles College in Singapore, where he graduated with a certificate in administrative studies.[3]

Raja Azam started his career in the administrative service in 1942, and the Taiping Land Office was one of his first employers. He had stated in the aforementioned interview that a government worker was supposed to be adaptable and that "(one) had to know the law very well as administrators often beckoned the role of magistrates." He was integrated into the Malayan Civil Service (MCS) by 1952. Raja Azam has previously held the positions of District Officer in Kuala Langat, Selangor, and Commissioner of Lands and Mines in Perlis. Following independence, he served as the State Secretary of Negeri Sembilan from 1960 to 1962 under the tutelage of Tuanku Abdul Rahman and Tuanku Munawir. From 1962 to 1964, he served as the State Secretary of Brunei at the invitation of Sultan Sir Omar Ali Saifuddien III to assist in the development of the Brunei civil service.[3]

As a representative of the Sultan of Brunei he officiated the opening of the Temburong District's penghulu and ketua kampong course on 11 July 1963. Residents of the district presented him gifts. Accompanied by Jaya Rajid, he was given an introduction by the district officer to the participants in the course, held in Bangar.[4] On 20 January 1963, he left Brunei for Malaya by plane after assisting the Bruneian government for two years. The Sultan and other officials sent their farewell at Berakas Airport, with Yusuf Abdul Rahman taking over his position.[5]

From 1967 until 1971 Raja Azam served as Secretary-General in the Ministry of Transport before returning to Malaysia.  Tun Abdul Razak asked him to leave the Ministry of Transportation so that he could head the Port Swettenham (now Port Klang) Authority from 1971 to 1977. Later, in 1978, he became the director of Keretapi Tanah Melayu.[3]

Raja Azam was married to Raja Fatimah binti Raja Zainal Azman, the granddaughter of Raja Sir Chulan.[2] He was the father of three daughters and five sons.[3]

Raja Azam earned the following honours;[2][6]


Azli bin Yusof[1] (Jawi: name ازلي يوسف; born 15 March 1967) is a Malaysian politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Shah Alam since November 2022. He served as Political Secretary to former Minister of Federal Territories and Shah Alam MP Khalid Abdul Samad from July 2018 to February 2020, Member of the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) Advisory Board from 2018 to 2020, Member of the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) from 2009 to 2012 and again from 2014 to 2015. He is a member of the National Trust Party (AMANAH), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition. He has also served as Deputy State Chairman of AMANAH of Selangor since 2019 and Division Chief of AMANAH of Shah Alam since 2016.

During his terms as both DBKL Advisory Board and MBSA Member, Azli involved in various key standing committees including Finance Committee, Engineering and Building Committee, One Stop Centre (OSC) Committee, Internal Audit and Assessment Committee, Smart Cities Committee and Licensing and Enforcement Committee. He also served as Chairman of Residence Representative Council for Zone 1 covering Section 2, 3, 4, 14 and Shah Alam City Centre and Zone 6 covering Section 17, 18 and Padang Jawa.

Director of Project Southeast Asia Region, DEXION ASIA

Azli obtained his BSc in Engineering Management from University of Missouri-Rolla USA (1990), and MBA in Logistics Management from UNISEL (2010).

Azli has over 25 years of global industry experience in project management & industrial design in construction industry and logistics. He is tasked to handle combined projects worth more than RM100 million a year serving as Director of Southeast Asia Region with DEXION ASIA.

Azli was appointed as Nazir of Masjid Jamek Tun Raja Uda, Section 16 Shah Alam in 2012, and Imam for Surau At-Taqwa Section 7 Shah Alam. He was also founder and member of Board of Trustees for Sekolah Rendah Islam Pintar, Shah Alam since 1999. He co-founded Muslim Care Malaysia, a borderless humanitarian NGO in 2005 and later in 2014 he co-founded Salam Relief which is also another humanitarian- based NGO. He is actively involved in various domestic humanitarian activities in Shah Alam as well as throughout Selangor and other States. He also participated in international relief missions such as during Tsunami in Acheh, Sumatera and earthquake in Bantul Jogjakarta.


R. G. Balan (born 22 November 1921, date of death unknown) was of the Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army. He worked underground in Tapah-Kampar area as a Communist Party of Malaya's Tamil publicist during the Japanese occupation of Malaya.[1]  He was a close friend with Abdullah CD and Suriani Abdullah, whom both of them were also active members of Communist Party of Malaya.

Balan was born Raja Gopal in Nova Scotia Estate, Teluk Intan on 22 November 1921, to a Ceylonese father and an Indian mother.[2]

Balan had a son, Gunallan. His mother was V. Sinnathayamma. He had a brother, Thirunoyam and a sister, Suppammal. His father died in 1958.[3]

R. G. Balan died prior to February 2002.[4]

In 1947, R.G Balan, along with Rashid Maidin and Wu Tien Wang,  attended the Communist Parties Conference  of Commonwealth Nations in London, as representatives of the Communist Party in Malaya. After his return, he organised the Perak Rubber Labourers Union. R.G. Balan remained as a labour organiser until he was detained without trial by the colonial authority on 30 May 1948 and not released until 1961.[5]

In 1955, while he was under detention, R.G. Balan was appointed a vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Malaya. They first met R.G. Balan in Ipoh immediately after the war had ended, when most of the underground party members emerged as victors of the Pacific War in Malaya.


Abdul Aziz bin Dato Haji Husain (born 18 July 1950 in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia) is the current Chairman of Eksons Corporation Bhd,[1] a public listed entity that has two plywood plants in Sabah and Sarawak. He is involved in the real estate sector through Eksons' subsidiary Atmosphere Sdn Bhd.

Bin Husain's last post in the public sector was group managing director of Sarawak Energy Berhad,[1] which he held after his retirement as State Secretary of the Sarawak Civil Service in December 2006. Before being appointed as the group MD, he was the chairman of the group executive management committee as well as the director of the company.

Abdul Aziz bin Husain is his name on the original birth certificate issued by the Registrar of births and deaths. The registrar had recorded the child's father's name on the document as Husin bin Haji Paris, and the person who reported the birth as Hussain bin Haji Paris.

Bin Husain went to Sekolah Raayat (1955–61) for his primary school education, and Maderasah Melayu and Green Road Government Secondary School for his secondary education. He passed the Senior Cambridge Exam with a grade 1. He then attended St. Thomas's School Kuching (1967–1968) for Sixth Form, where he obtained the Full HSC Certificate in 1968. After a one-year teaching stint, he was admitted to the University of Malaya in 1970 on the Education Ministry Scholarship. Bin Husain earned a Bachelor in Economics, majoring in Business Administration in 1973. He obtained a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) with an emphasis on Finance in 1979 from Syracuse University in New York. While there, he studied in the Federal Public Service Department on a service training scholarship.

For his service to Sarawak, particularly in the areas of economics and human resource development, Swinburne University conferred upon bin Husain the Honorary Doctor of University Degree in October, 2008 in a graduation ceremony held in Melbourne, Australia.

Amar Abdul Aziz was married to the late Fredahanam Mahmud, a business executive. He has five children. He also has three grandchildren.

Amar Abdul Aziz started his career in the Sarawakian civil service as an assistant secretary with the Industries division of the state planning unit on July 23, 1973.  After obtaining his MBA from Syracuse University, he was promoted to principal assistant secretary of the state financial secretary's office, Finance Section in August, 1979.  He was then named Deputy Chairman of the SEDC in September 1981, a post which he held until January 1987. As Deputy Chairman, he ran the day-to-day operations of the Corporation.

While in SEDC, Bin Husain helped with the formation of the Bumiputra Entrepreneur Development Unit, which assisted Bumiputra entrepreneurs in the fields of trade and commerce. He also helped start the computerization of SEDC.

Bin Husain was transferred back to state service in Sarawak, and became deputy state financial secretary in January, 1987. In May 1990, he was appointed the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Infrastructure Development. He commissioned, among other things, the artesian wells for the coastal areas, as well as small gravity feed projects in interior areas. He planned the Kuching barrage, which now controls the tide level of the Sarawak River. The project, which has been proven effective in preventing the monthly flooding of the low-lying areas in Kuching, inhibits salt water intrusion and reduces erosion of the river banks.

Bin Husain served as a senior administrative officer in the Sarawak State Secretary’s office in September 1993 before being appointed the deputy state secretary in charge of Human Resources in January, 1994. He was officially appointed to the post of State Secretary of Sarawak on August 25, 2000,[2] a post which he held until December 31, 2006.

Bin Husain has also served on various governments boards, statutory bodies, port authorities, charitable trusts, and government-linked companies. He was elected president of the Asia Pacific Region Training and Development Organization (ARTDO) in August, 1995 at the ARTDO’s Council Meeting in Melbourne, and re-elected for 1996/1997 in Manila.  As the Chairman of ARTDO, bin Husain has conducted seminars and lectures in Human Resources at various national and international venues.

Bin Husain was involved in the Askar Wataniah (Malaysian Army Reserve Force) until his retirement. After attending intensive military training at Puswatan, Ipoh in 1995, he won the award for best recruit officer, and was conferred the post of Major. Bin Husain was subsequently promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and given the command of the First Battalion Regiment 511. He was again promoted to colonel in 2000, becoming the Commander of Regiment 511 AW.  Bin Husain was again promoted, to the rank of brigadier general, and retired from the army in 2010.  While he was State Secretary, bin Husain was also Chairman of Jawatankuasa Pendukong Askar Wataniah (JAKPAW).  During his tenure in the AW, he expanded the size of the regiment and recruited over 120 new officers, primarily from the civil service.

For his work in the Askar Wataniah, bin Husain was conferred the Panglima Angkatan Tentera (PAT) by the Yang di-Pertuan Agung in 2000.

In the field of education and human resource development, bin Husain is currently Chairman of the Sarawak Skill Development Centre (PPKS),[3] being first elected to the post in March 1999.  When he started, PPKS was a small training centre offering a few technical courses with fewer than 100 students. Today, PPKS has over 200 staff and over 2000 students offering certificates and diploma programs. It also has joint study agreements with other institutions of learning, both in Malaysia and overseas.

Bin Husain is Chairman of PPKS Ilmu Sdn Bhd,[4] a wholly owned subsidiary of PPKS which has set up the International College of Advance Technology Sarawak (ICATS) to conduct programs at the diploma level and higher.  With the acquisition of the INTI Campus, ICATS will have the capacity to accommodate up to 3000 students.

Bin Husain was the first chairman of Swinburne Sarawak Sdn Bhd, which manages the Swinburne University Sarawak Branch Campus. He helped in the development of the Swinburne New Campus at Simpang Tiga and oversaw the construction of new campus facilities. Currently, he sits as a member of the University Council.

Bin Husain has been the Chairman of Angkatan Zaman Mangsang (AZAM) since March 1998, and was the founder of its sister organization Sarawak Development Institute (SDI), which was established in 1995 with a mission to provide independent and objective inputs to the State. SDI and AZAM conduct about 20 seminars and workshops yearly, covering various current issues.

He was the President of Sarawak Club, the oldest club in Malaysia, having held the post from September 2002 until 2009. Under his presidency, the club started building its own golf course at the Unimas Campus site. He oversaw the reconstruction of the Sarawak Club building, which was destroyed by a fire in July 2006.

Bin Husain is also the Chairman of Persatuan Bagi Kebajikan Kanak-Kanak Terencat Akal Sarawak (PERKATA), a Sarawak organization for mentally retarded children, being first elected to the position in January 2001.

In sports, bin Husain has been the President of the Sarawak Badminton Association (SBA) since 2003, and sits as one of the Vice Presidents of the Malaysian Badminton Association.[5] He is also the President of the Persatuan Badminton Bumiputra Sarawak, a post which he has held since 1985.

Bin Husain played an active role in cooperative development in Sarawak as the President of KOPPES (The SEDC Cooperative), which he help to form in 1986. KOPPES is currently rated in the top 100 cooperatives in Malaysia. Under his leadership, KOPPES has grown, and has many activities including land development, education, and health services. Bin Husain received the “Anugerah Tokoh Koperasi, Negeri Sarawak” in 1997 for his  contribution and role in cooperative development in the state.

Bin Husain is also the President Of HIKMAH (formerly BINA), being elected to that post in 2005 after holding the post of deputy president of the organization since 2000. He had also been a member of the BINA Supreme Council since 1991. For his service in HIKMAH and the Muslim community, bin Husain was awarded the Tokoh Khas Maal Hijrah [6] in October 2013 by the TYT in Sibu.


Chen Tien or Chen Tian (simplified Chinese: 陈田; traditional Chinese: 陳田; pinyin: Chén Tián) (25 August 1923 - 3 September 1990) was the head of the Central Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM).

Chen was present during the Baling Talks, along with the CPM's secretary-general Chin Peng and senior leader Rashid Maidin, to discuss the resolution of the Malayan Emergency. On the other side were three elected national representatives; Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tan Cheng Lock and David Marshall. The talks took place in the Government English School at Baling on 28 December 1956. However, the talks were unsuccessful because the surrender terms were not acceptable to the Malayan Communist Party and because of disagreement over the legalising of CPM as a political party in Malaya. A few weeks after the Baling talks, Tan Siew Sin, the president of the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) received a letter from Chen Tien, requesting a resumption of peace talks and the repeal of the emergency regulations, which he rejected.[1] In 1960, when the emergency was officially declared at an end, Chen Tien, Chin Peng and other communists continued their rebellion.

After the talks, Chen Tien then left the party while Chin Peng remained. He moved to China and spent his later life in the country where he married Lee Meng in 1965, the female notorious leader of the CPM who had been banished a year before. Chen died due to lung cancer on 3 September 1990.[2]


Chin Peng[a] (21 October 1924 – 16 September 2013[3]), born Ong Boon Hua,[b] was a Malayan communist guerilla leader and politician, who was the long-time leader of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) and the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA).

During World War II, he fought as an anti-colonialist guerrilla in the Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army against the Japanese occupation of Malaya. He led the party's guerrilla insurgency in the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960), fighting against British and Commonwealth forces in an attempt to establish an independent socialist state. After the MCP's defeat and subsequent Malayan independence, Chin waged a second campaign (1968–1989) from exile against the newly formed government of Malaysia in an attempt to replace its government with a socialist one. This second insurgency came to an end with the Peace Agreement of Hat Yai 1989.

Chin Peng died at the age of 88, in Bangkok, Thailand, where he was cremated according to Buddhist rites.

Chin Peng was born Ong Boon Hua on 21 October 1924 into a middle-class family in the small seaside town of Sitiawan, in Perak state, Malaya. His ancestral home is Fuqing, Fujian, China. His father went to live in Sitiawan in 1920. He set up a bicycle, tire, and spare motor parts business with the help of a relative from Singapore, known as Ong Lock Cho.[4]

Chin Peng attended a Chinese language school in Sitiawan. In 1937 he joined the Chinese Anti Enemy Backing Up Society (AEBUS), formed that year to send aid to China in response to Japan's aggression. According to Chin and Hack, he was not a communist then.[5] He was in charge of anti-Japanese activities at his school, and was reportedly a supporter of Sun Yat-sen. By early 1939, he had embraced Communism. He planned to go to Yan'an, the renowned communist base in China but was persuaded to remain in Malaya and take on heavier responsibilities in the newly formed Malayan Communist Party.

In late 1939, when Chin Peng was in the 4th year of his secondary school education (known as senior middle-level one), his school announced that the senior middle section was to be closed due to lack of funds. He decided to continue his education in the Methodist-run Anglo-Chinese Continuation School, which operated in English, because it provided a good cover for his underground activities. He did not want to have to move to Singapore to continue with his education in Chinese. He left the school "for fear of British harassment" after just 6 months.[6]
He was now focused fully on his political activities and became, from that point on, a full-time revolutionary. In January 1940 he was put in charge of three anti-Japanese organisations that were targeting students, teachers, members of cultural activities, and general labourers. At the end of January 1940, he was admitted to the Malayan Communist Party as a member.[7]

Harassment by the authorities led him to leave his home town for Kuala Kangsar in July 1940. (This may be at the time when he left his school, refer to above). Later he spent a month in Taiping. In September 1940 the party posted him to Ipoh as a  Standing committee member for Perak. In December he attained full Party membership.

In early 1941 AEBUS was dissolved. Chin Peng became Ipoh District committee member of the Party. "He led student underground cells of three Chinese secondary schools and the Party's organisations of the shop assistants, domestic servants of European families, workers at brick kilns and barbers."
[7]

In June 1941 he became a member of the Perak State Committee.

Chin Peng rose to prominence during World War II when many Chinese Malayans took to the jungle to fight a guerrilla war against the Japanese. These fighters, inspired by the example of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), became known as the Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA). Chin Peng became the liaison officer between the MPAJA and the British military in South-East Asia.

The Japanese invasion of Malaya began in December 1941. In 1942 Chin was the youngest of three members of the Secretariat of the Perak State Committee: Su Yew Meng was secretary and Chang Meng Ching  was the other member. In early 1943 the two senior members were captured by the Japanese, which left Chin Peng in charge. Contact with the Party's Central Committee had been lost; he attempted to re-establish it, travelling to Kuala Lumpur and meeting Chai Ker Meng. Later, party leader Lai Tek sent another Central Committee member, Lee Siow Peng (Siao Ping), to replace Chin as State Secretary. However, Lee Siow Peng was captured not long after while travelling to a meeting that was to be held in Singapore.[citation needed]

Thus the job of establishing contact with the British commando Force 136 fell to Chin Peng. The first party of that force, consisting of Capt. John Davis and five Chinese agents had landed in Malaya on 24 May 1943, by submarine. Chin Peng made contact with this armed group on 30 September 1943. He was active in his support for the British stay-behind troops but had no illusions about their failure to protect Malaya against the Japanese. In the course of this activity, he came into contact with Freddie Spencer Chapman, who called him a 'true friend' in his Malayan jungle memoir, 'The Jungle Is Neutral'.

In recognition of his service during the war, Chin was awarded an OBE[2] (though it was subsequently withdrawn later by the British government), a mention in despatches and two campaign medals by Britain. He was elected the Secretary-General of the Communist Party of Malaya after the betrayal of previous leader Lai Tek, who had turned out to be an agent for both the British and the Japanese and had denounced the leadership of the Party to the Japanese secret police. Chin Peng was the most senior surviving member.

In 1948, the Federation of Malaya Plan replaced the Malayan Union plan, frustrating the CPM as they felt the plan was undemocratic and biased towards the Malay elites. They accused the British of forcing the Federation idea on the people by portraying it as a constitutional solution to Malaya's crisis.[8][9] According to Chin, the central committee still adhered to Lai Teck's peace struggle strategy in facing the Federation, as they thought that the people of Malaya were still recovering from the horrors of the Japanese Occupation. To launch an armed rebellion so soon would not only cause them to lose the mass support they had been enjoying but, at the same time, also drive the already wary Malays to openly resist them.[10][11][12]

Some scholars allege that the CPM received secret directives from Moscow agents on the methods and timing for a near-simultaneous uprising against colonial authorities during the Southeast Asian Youth Conference held in Calcutta on 19 February 1948 which eventually caused the CPM's insurrection. Chin denied it, stating that the conference argued against such a move. Laurence Sharkey, party secretary of the Australian Communist Party, informed Chin and the central committee of the conference's decision while stopping over in Singapore on his way home.[13][14] In March 1948, the central committees were discussing new policies as the labour strikes were not bringing the results that they hoped for. Chin Peng estimated it would be a year or two before the British took actions against the CPM, leaving them ample time to prepare for a guerrilla war.[15][16]

On 12 June 1948, the colonial government outlawed the burgeoning trade union federations amid a rising atmosphere of tension. Since then, there was no reduction in the level of violent activities, other than the neutralisation of trade unions. Political murders of informers, anyone found to be working against the labour movement or the CPM, non-Europeans considered enemies to the communist cause or strike-breakers who used thugs and gangsters to harass protesters rose.[17] The murder of three Kuomintang leaders in Johor on 12 June had convinced the British that the communists were escalating the conflict in retaliation for outlawing the trade unions, while in the CPM's eyes these murders were just purely acts of intimidation. Chin again claimed that he was not aware of the murders at the time, although he approved of the later killing of the plantation managers who he claimed were harsh and cruel towards farmworkers.[17][18]

On 16 June 1948, three European plantation managers were murdered in Sungai Siput, which has generally been identified as the incident contributing to the Malayan colonial administration declaration of a state of emergency. Rather, Sze-Chieh Ng argued these murders were merely the final catalyst for a long-brewing crisis that had been going on since the trade unions began agitating in 1945. Historian Anthony Short feels that this was more of a panic reaction than a carefully considered move. According to him, the government had been powerless to deal with the unrest plaguing Malaya since 1945. According to Purcell's viewpoint, the Emergency was declared in response to increasing incidents of violence and lawlessness.[19][20][21]

Many Singaporean historians and anti-communists allege that Chin Peng ordered the killings. Chin claimed he had no prior knowledge of the plot. He added that he barely escaped arrest, losing his passport in the process, and he lost touch with the Party for a couple of days.[22] Chin became the most wanted man of the British government, with the government offering a reward of $250,000 for his capture. On 17 July 1948, CPM offices in Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Singapore, and other major cities were raided, followed by mass arrests of suspected communists and anti-government individuals on 21 July.[23] The CPM was banned in July 1948.

In response to the Emergency and the mass arrests of its members, the CPM issued a call to its members to revive its disbanded wartime resistance army, the MPAJA, to take up arms again and escape to the jungles.[24] In fact, since late May and early June the communists had been secretly setting up platoons in several states in preparation for an expected British crackdown in September. The sudden declaration of the Emergency in June, however, forced the MCP to hasten its plan, and they appealed to comrades and volunteers to join them in the struggle.[19] The new guerrilla army, now known as the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA), spent the first year of the Emergency reconsolidating and rearming.[23]

At that time, the CPM was in chaos. Its members were dispersed in the jungle and operated without any command structure or central leadership. According to Chin, attacks were being carried out without his approval or knowledge and there was no coordination among units. The guerrillas endured heavy casualties were but made few or no strategic gains in those early months.[25] Chin was desperate to assert control over the MNLA, which had been operating independently since June. It was not until August that some form of central authority was finally set up in the Cameron Highlands, with Chin ordering the guerrillas to adopt Mao Zedong's strategy of establishing liberated zones whenever they drove British forces from an area.[26] However, this strategy failed. British forces continued to hound the guerrillas, who were often forced to retreat deeper into the jungles and disperse into smaller units. This was due to difficulties in resupply.  Moreover large units risked being detected and annihilated by British patrols.[27]

Furthermore, the CPM was losing civilian support, and lacking material assistance and intelligence, the party suffered. Chin admitted they had wrongly assumed that the people would be willing support his men, as they had done during World War II. When that failed to happen, they resorted to force to satisfy their needs.[28]

The CPM and MNLA also suffered under British propaganda, which labelled them "bandits" and "communist terrorists". Old suspicions and assumptions that the CPM had clandestine support from either the CCP or the Soviet Union had, over time, hardened into certainty.[29] Records disclosed after the Cold War ended have finally disproved the convenient lie the British propagated more than half a century ago, revealing not only that the CPM had not sought external support but also that no agents from either China or Russia had even made contact with them. The only ‘support’ Chin recalled obtaining was the encouraging news that Mao's guerrillas had defeated Chiang Kai-shek's well-equipped and numerically superior KMT army in 1949.[30][31]

In 1950, a series of strategies were introduced by the Director of Operations for the anti-communist war in Malaya, Lt. General Sir Harold Briggs, that later became known as the Briggs Plan.[32] The plan, which aimed to defeat the guerrillas by cutting off their sources of civilian support, was a success. The creation of ‘New Villages’ under this plan restricted intelligence and food supplies for the CPM, and thus had a devastating effect on the guerrillas.[33] Chin was well aware of this fact, since several times he nearly starved during those twelve years.[34]

After several reviews and amendments, the CPM ordered the guerrillas to cease sabotage and terror operations and to develop closer ties with the middle-class to preserve their organizational strength.[33] Chin would later admit in an interview in 1999 that this directive was a mistake as it allowed the British to press on with their attacks on the MNLA, whom they correctly assessed to be quite demoralised by then.[35]

After Sir Harold Briggs died, Lt. General Sir Gerald Templer was appointed as the new commander, introducing aggressive strategies which differed from the Briggs Plan. These included interrogations, food rationing, large monetary rewards for captured or killed communists coupled with intense military operations, and the mobilisation of a large number of troops to hound the guerrillas.[36][37] In 1953, the CPM relocated their headquarters to Betong, in southern Thailand. They reestablished its networks to connect the scattered units and review its strategy.[38][39]

In late 1953 and early 1954, the war was at a semi-stalemate due to both the MNLA and the British being unable to decisively defeat one another.[40] In early 1954, Siao Chang, a top CPM leader who had been sent to Beijing in late 1952 to deepen his Marxist–Leninist education while also serving as liaison to the CCP, announced a new direction for the party, which was to abandon the establishment of the People's Democratic Republic of Malaya and join with other Malayan political parties in a legal fight for Malaya independence.[41] Chin described Siao as the CPM's ‘insurance policy’ in the event the central committee was eliminated.[42]

Although this was not their decision, Chin and the other central committees decided to join the other Malayan parties, reasoning that the Malay politicians had achieved more for the independence movement within the last few years than the MNLA had since 1948. The Beijing announcement also revealed to the CPM that both the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China had viewed the armed struggle in Malaya as untenable.[43][42][44]

On 24 September 1955, Chin wrote to Tunku Abdul Rahman offering to negotiate peace. On 17 October, talks between two government representatives and Chin Peng and another central committee of the CPM were held at Klian Intan.[45] A new ‘Eight Point Program’ was introduced by the CPM to call for an end to the Emergency and a cessation of hostilities, a reform of Malaya's political system, expand democratic rights, support for world peace, and attention to other matters including education, health, welfare, and industrial production.

On 28 and 29 December 1955, the negotiations reached their peak at the small northern town of Baling in Kedah. Representatives from the Government were Tunku Abdul Rahman, David Marshall, the Chief Minister of Singapore, and Sir Tan Cheng Lock, the leader of the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA). The CPM was represented by Chin Peng, Chen Tian, and Abdul Rashid bin Maidin. The first day of the talks did not go well, as Chin wanted the CPM to be recognised as a legal party again, or for the leaders and members of the MNLA to at least be allowed to regain their freedom of movement and not face any legal persecution or imprisonment.[46] Tunku Abdul Rahman rejected this request and demanded at the beginning of the meeting that the CPM fully surrender as the only way to peace, but then promised that those who surrendered would undergo a period of rehabilitation before being allowed to become free citizens again.[46]

Chin again argued freedom of thought and choice must be recognised by the Malayan government if the new nation was to survive past its independence, as the people should have the right to decide which political path the nation should take rather than having that choice be decided by a select few in the government.[46] Tunku Abdul Rahman rejected this as well and only promised freedom for the CPM members to join any existing political party after being cleared by the authorities.[46]

On the second day of the talks, Chin promised that the CPM would stop fighting and lay down its arms if the Alliance government persuaded the British government to grant it authority over internal security and defence.[47] Tunku Abdul Rahman accepted it as a challenge and promised that he would push for it on his upcoming trip to London.[48] Great publicity was given in the media to this dramatic challenge from Chin Peng. The challenge, indeed, served to strengthen the Alliance government's bargaining position at the London talks. Anxious to end the Emergency, the British government agreed to concede those powers of internal security and defence and to accede to the demand for independence for Malaya by 31 August 1957, if possible.[49] Chin claimed it was his challenge to Tunku Abdul Rahman that hastened the independence of Malaya.[49] Tunku Abdul Rahman had acknowledged the importance of the Baling talks, writing in 1974 that "Baling had led straight to Merdeka (Independence)."[49]

Regardless, the talks themselves ended without a consensus between the two sides. The talks finally collapsed but were regarded as both a success and failure for Tunku Abdul Rahman, as the talks made the British regard him as a strong leader who was tough on communism. His performance had also impressed the Colonial Office enough to grant Malaya independence. For the CPM, it was a very demoralising affair that nearly destroyed their already ailing struggle.[48] The failure of the Baling Talks was a great blow for the CPM, since they now lost hope both of ending the war and of propagating their ideology. Due to the mounting combat casualties and the insecurity of food supplies, the members began surrendering to the government in exchange for monetary rewards and pardons.[50]

In 1956, Chin wrote to Tunku Abdul Rahman offering to resume negotiations. This was rejected by Rahman in a broadcast on 2 April. By late 1958, the MNLA had lost almost 88% of its men, declining from an approximately 3000-strong army when they first rebelled in mid-1948 to no more than 350 men, as a result of casualties and surrenders.[51][52][53]

In 1959, the central committees of CPM decided to demobilise their activities and to have the guerrillas reintegrate into society while continuing to promote their communist ideals until such a time when they could once again rise up in revolt.[51] Chin then moved to south Thailand with the remnants of his forces during the latter part of the Emergency due to pressure from the Malayan security forces, which by 1952 totalled over 32,000 regular troops in Malaya, about three-fifths of whom were Europeans from the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.[54]

In 1961, members of the CPM central committee such as Chin Peng, Chen Tien, and Lee An Tung moved to Beijing to seek political advice and guidance from the more experienced Chinese Communist Party.[51] Chin would, however, remain in Beijing for the next 29 years and the party would not lay down its arms until 1989. The reasons for this reversal of the party's decision to disband, according to Chin, was the advice given to him by the Vietnamese communist leaders in Hanoi, the opening of the second ‘Vietnam War’, which was followed by China's Cultural Revolution, all of which stressed a strong militant line to be taken by Asian communist parties.[55]

While in Beijing, Chin Peng was also advised by Deng Xiaoping, to continue the armed struggle in Malaya as Deng felt the time was ripe for revolutions to take place in Southeast Asia.[56] Deng insisted that the military struggle should not only be maintained but stepped up.[57] Deng even promised financial support to the CPM if they should take up arms once again.[56] Deng offered for this to remain a secret as the CCP did not wish to let it be known that they had been actively supporting Southeast Asia's communist movements. Chin reluctantly decided to acquiesce to Deng's suggestion. This was also the first time that the CPM had accepted foreign assistance in its struggle and it was with this financial backing that the second armed struggle in Malaya would be launched in 1968.[56]

Meanwhile, back in Malaya, the Malayan government had declared the Emergency over on 31 July 1960 once they became confident the MNLA had ceased to be a credible threat, with the surviving guerrillas retreating to their sanctuary in southern Thailand.[56] However, the insurgency continued with the insurgents increasing their attacks, ambushing military convoys, bombing national monuments, and assassinations of marked police officers and political ‘enemy targets’. The insurgency, which began as a war against the British colonialists, was now transformed into a war against ‘federalists, compressors capitalists and lackeys of British imperialism’.[55] The Malayan government maintained a high-security alert by devoting one-third of its national budget to defence and internal security needs and requested British, Australian and New Zealand troops to remain in the country until its internal security and national armed forces could be built up and the foreign troops gradually phased out.[55]

In 1970, the CPM's guerrilla bases in Thailand were hard hit by the trials and executions of supposed spies. Two breakaway factions were formed which condemned the purge. Chin, who was then based in China, denied involvement and later rehabilitated his accused comrades.[58] During the 1970s and 1980s, the CPM intensified its activities and clashes with the security forces. These activities were due to a rivalry among three factions in the CPM over party purges and strategies, with each faction trying to outdo the other in militancy and violence.[59]

However, in 1980, Deng Xiaoping refocused his priorities back on the Chinese bureaucracy after his return to power in 1978. He welcomed Lee Kuan Yew, the then-Prime Minister of Singapore and its leading political figure since independence from Malaysia, in a visit to Beijing.[57] Chin recalled that Deng had not bothered to meet him since then. Finally, in December 1980, Deng summoned Chin. In the meeting, Deng demanded Chin to immediately close down all the CPM's radio stations which were broadcasting from China to Malaysia. When Chin asked Deng when he would like him to cease the broadcasting, Deng replied, "The sooner the better ... Lee (Lee Kuan Yew) asked me to stop the broadcasts immediately."[57] Moreover, during his official visit to China, the second Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Abdul Razak held talks with Chinese communist leader Chairman Mao Zedong and urged him to stop giving aid to the CPM. The fourth Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad further succeeded in persuading China to downgrade its ties with the CPM. This was an important factor that contributed to the CPM's decision to end its armed struggle.[59][60]

The CPM finally laid down its arms in 1989. The death toll during the armed conflict totalled thousands. Those sympathetic to Chin Peng tend to portray the violence perpetrated by the CPM as defensive, while right-wing opponents tend to portray it as aggressive and unethical. Some have claimed a large number of civilian casualties was in contrast to the stance adopted by Mao Zedong and his policy of the Eight Points of Attention.

On 2 December 1989, at the town of Hat Yai in Southern Thailand, Chin, Rashid Maidin, and Abdullah CD met with representatives of the Malaysian and Thai governments. Separate peace agreements were signed between the MCP and both governments. One of the terms of the agreement was that MCP members of Malayan origin be allowed to return to live in Malaysia.

When all hostilities ceased, the total number of CPM members was 1,188; 694 were Thai-born and 494 claimed origins in Peninsular Malaysia. They were given a temporary grant and promised integration into Malaysia.[57]

In Chin's opinion, peace could have been achieved as early as 1955 during the Baling Talks, if the British, Tunku Abdul Rahman and David Marshall had not demanded that the communist fighters capitulate and surrender but, rather, had allowed them to hand over or destroy their weapons in a mutually agreed way and then resume normal life with full political freedom, which was the broad outcome of the 1989 accords.[61]

Chin never officially returned to Malaysia after the 1989 Hat Yai Peace Accords but continued his exile in Thailand. He gave lectures at the National University of Singapore in 2004, using purposes of academic research as his reason to gain visitation permission from the Singaporean government. At the beginning of 2000, he applied for permission to return to Malaysia. His application was rejected by the High Court on 25 July 2005.

In June 2008, Chin again lost his bid to return to Malaysia when the Court of Appeal upheld an earlier ruling that compelled him to show identification papers to prove his citizenship. Chin maintained that his birth certificate was seized by the police during a raid in 1948. His counsel Raja Aziz Addruse had submitted before the Court of Appeal that it was wrong for the Malaysian government to compel him to produce the documents because he was entitled to enter and live in Malaysia under the peace agreement.

On April 2009, Chin's application to return to Malaysia was once again rejected by the High Court for the same reason as his previous attempt. The Malaysian government insisted that his possible return would cause people who lost their loved ones during the Emergency to relive their pain again.[62]

In November 2009, Chin issued an apology to the victims and their family members for the atrocities committed by the CPM.[63] However, the then-Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Muhyiddin Yassin, replied that despite Chin's apology, he would still not be allowed to return to Malaysia due to his treason.[64]

Before his death, he lived in exile in Thailand. Contrary to one of the conditions of the 1989 peace agreement, he was not permitted to return to Malaysia.[citation needed]

Chin died of cancer at the age of 88 at a private hospital in Bangkok, with only his 50-year-old niece by his side, on the morning of 16 September 2013, the 50th anniversary of Malaysia Day,[65] and the 90th birthday of Lee Kuan Yew. He was cremated according to Buddhist rites.[citation needed]

While Chin had previously voiced wishes to be buried in Sitiawan, his remains continued to be denied entry for burial in Malaysia by the Malaysian government, as it was claimed that the one-year window after the agreement to reapply for citizenship had long lapsed and Chin was assumed to have relinquished his rights to return.[66] In November 2019, his remains were announced to have been returned in secrecy by a small action committee on 16 September 2019; his ashes were ceremoniously transported through Sitiawan before scattering at a hillside near Chemor and at sea.[67]

Chin Peng co-authored his story with Singapore-based writers and publishers Ian Ward, who was formerly the Southeast Asia correspondent for the London conservative newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, and Ward's wife Norma Miraflor. The book named Alias Chin Peng: My Side of History, was published in 2003.[68]

Another book, Dialogues with Chin Peng: New Light on the Malayan Communist Party by editors C. C. Chin and Karl Hack, was published by the Singapore University Press in 2004. This book details a series of meetings held in Australia that Chin Peng had attended with historians and military experts.

In 2006, a documentary film about Chin Peng was made called The Last Communist. It was banned by the Ministry of Home Affairs of Malaysia.[69]

Another documentary film about him called I Love Malaya was released.[70]


Chong Ted Tsiung (simplified Chinese: 张德松; traditional Chinese: 張德松; pinyin: Zhāng Désōng; Jyutping: Zoeng1 Dak1 Cung4; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tiunn Tik-tshîng; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Chông Tet-tshiùng) was the third mayor of Kuching City South Council. He succeeded Chan Seng Khai who was the second mayor of Kuching City South Council on 31 July 2006. He was the first non-politician to be appointed as a mayor of Kuching City South Council, having previously been employed by the state as Controller of Environment Quality.[1]

Born in a family of 9 in Kuching on 18 June 1956, he received his 6-year primary education at 10th Mile Chinese Primary School and his secondary education at Dragon Government Secondary' School, 24th Mile Kuching-Serian Road. In 1982, he graduated with a bachelor's degree (Honours) in Public Administration from De Montfort University, Leicester, England, Later, in 1995 he obtained his Master of Science in Environmental Policy and Management from Hull University, UK.


Lily Eberwein Abdullah (11 July 1900[1][2] – 1980) was a Sarawakian nationalist and a women's right activist. She was politically active in the anti-cession movement of Sarawak, a nationalist movement in the 1940s attempted to retrieve Sarawak's independence from takeover by Britain. This movement had helped in politicising local people besides cultivating national spirit in people of Sarawak.[3]

Lily Eberwein Abdullah was a Eurasian by birth, having European and Malay ancestry. Her father, John Eberwein, a Eurasian of Dutch and Scottish descent from Cocos Islands, was a relative of the Clunies-Ross family, rulers of that island. Lily's father captained the ship Rajah Brooke for the Straits Steamship Company.[4] Her mother was a local Malay woman, Maznah bt. Ali bin Alang of Simanggang. They lived in Singapore where they had two children, Lily and Edward. Maznah was a practising Muslim, but Lily and Edward had a Christian upbringing. Lily had her early education at St. Mary's Mission School in Kuching, Sarawak until she was eight years old and continued her study at Raffles Girls’ School in Singapore.

After her father's death, Lily returned to Kuching with her mother and continued her study until Standard Seven (equivalent to Form Three, age 15) at St. Mary's Mission School. Her father's death completely changed her family's lifestyle. Lily had to adjust to a Muslim Malay upbringing, denoted by the addition of Abdullah to her name. In an interview, her daughter, Hafsah Harun, explained that her mother's upbringing was different from that of other Malay girls. Having had a European lifestyle in Singapore, when she returned to Kuching she missed her previous freedom and found it difficult to start covering her head and be confined to the house. She had been accustomed to having male servants to serve her when her father was still alive in Singapore, but back in Kuching she had to serve her uncles. Furthermore, being an educated woman she was very outspoken and independent. Lily converted to Islam in 1913. Her knowledge about her new religion impressed her neighbours, to the extent that many people in the village sent their sons to Lily to learn to read the Quran. This gesture showed that the people in the village trusted her and respected her highly as women were rarely consulted for religious teaching in that era. She had become accepted, and identified herself, as a Muslim Malay.

In 1927, the Director of a telephone company, Mr Tate, recruited Lily Eberwein to work as a telephone operator, making her the first Malay woman to work in a Government Department.[4] She had an excellent command of both Malay and English, as was required of a telephone operator, and her father had been a family friend of Mr. Tate's.

In 1929, she resigned from this post when the Brooke Government appointed her as the Principal of the Permaisuri Malay Girls’ School, which was opened in Kuching in 1930.[4] She was also the secretary of the Malay section, while Mary Ong, Barbara Bay and Mrs. Gopal headed Chinese, Iban and Indian section. Through her educational activities, both religious and secular, she became known as Cikgu (teacher) Lily. Noticeably, she was over the age for marriage at that time.

She married in 1938 and proceeded to have three daughters, with the first, Hafsah, being born in 1940. Her husband, Harun bin Haris, was ten years her junior, with only five years of primary education, and worked in the Sarawak Police Constabulary. Her husband was very supportive of her involvement in the Anti-Cession movement and her passion for education. In Sarawak at that time, being married at a later age and having a much younger husband would definitely have been controversial. However, Lily seemed to be able to take it all in her stride. She was highly respected, especially among Malay people because of her dedication to educating Malay girls.

During the Japanese occupation in Sarawak, the Japanese appointed Lily as the leader of the Malay section of the Kaum Ibu, a multiethnic women's association. In March 1947, she was elected as the chairperson of the women's wing of the Malay National Union of Sarawak(PKMS), a leading group in the Anti-Cession Movement. Lily resigned from her post as the principal of Permaisuri Girls School in 1947 as a sign of protest against the Cession but she continued her role as an educationalist by establishing new schools.

As the anti-cession struggle continued, many Malay government schools were closed. This became a serious concern as affected students could not find places in other Malay schools. Four schools in Kuching and another in Sibu were established by those teachers who resigned. To assist children of resigned public servants who boycotted government schools, Lily helped to establish a religious school for girls and women (sekolah rakyat) in the premise of the Masjid Bintangor Haji Taha Building. Lily and teachers who resigned in protest against the circular taught in these schools without pay.

In an interview by The Straits Times Singapore dated 21 July 1947 on the Anti-Cession movement, Lily Eberwein expressed her concern for its impact on Malay education. In the article entitled “Education Standstill”, Lily stated that the protest against cession had had the most serious effect on education, which was virtually at a standstill. She emphasised that the position of education in Sarawak must remain a matter of gravest public concern “for as long as this unhappy controversy lasts”, referring to cession. She also stated, “We Malays, in conjunction with the other indigenous races, will fight with unwavering purpose for the redress of the wrong that has been done to our people in the extinction of our nationhood and independence”. In the article she clearly identified herself as a member of the Malay community and with the cause of Sarawak's national independence, but also expresses her concern about the effects of the nationalist struggle on education and thus on the people of Sarawak. In Anthony Brooke's memoir, he clearly recognised the importance of the women's role in the Anti-Cession movement. He specifically highlighted Lily Eberwein's effort, stating that: “a new impetus was given to the movement due to the initiative head teacher Lily Eberwein, who formed a women’s branch of the movement. This met with considerable support from women of all ages from throughout the count.”

Although Lily Eberwein was a very active anti-cessionist, she never joined any political parties. Nevertheless, she was the first woman to be appointed as a Councillor of Kuching Municipal Council in 1950. She was a pioneer for women in public life in Sarawak. She participated actively in various voluntary organisations such as the Prisoners’ Aid Society, Anti-Tuberculosis Association Sarawak (ATAS), and the Red Cross. She remained the Chairman of Kaum Ibu in the Malay National Union of Sarawak until 1960 when she also retired from her own school, Satok English School. Occasionally after that she assisted her daughter Hafsah Harun who replaced her as the school Principal.


Ellron Alfred Angin (born 15 July 1958) is a Malaysian politician who has been the State Minister of Rural Development briefly in 2018 and currently the incumbent State Minister of Youth and Sports since 2020. He has served as the Member of Sabah State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Sook since March 2008. He was formerly a member of the Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) which is aligned with the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition both in federal and state levels and now a member of the Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) since 2018.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]