Fadzil Noor

Fadzil bin Muhammad Noor[1] (Jawi: فاضل بن محمد نور) was a Malaysian politician and religious teacher. He was the president of Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) from 1989 to 2002 and Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Malaysia from 1999 to 2002.

Yang Berbahagia Dato' Ustaz Haji Fadzil Noor DSDK
فاضل بن محمد نور
7th Leader of the Opposition
In office 29 November 1999 – 23 June 2002
Monarch	Jaafar Salahuddin
Prime Minister	Mahathir Mohamad
Preceded by	Lim Kit Siang
Succeeded by	Abdul Hadi Awang
President of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party
In office 1989 – 23 June 2002
Preceded by	Yusof Rawa
Succeeded by	Abdul Hadi Awang
Personal details
Born	Fadzil bin Muhammad Noor (1939-03-13)13 March 1939
Died	23 June 2002(2002-06-23) (aged 63)
Political party	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS)
Other political affiliations	Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah (APU) (1990-1996) Barisan Alternatif (BA) (1999-2002)
Spouse(s)	Siti Khadijah Ibrahim
Children	8 (5 sons & 3 daughters)
Parents	Mohd Noor Abdul Hamid Hindun Abdul Rahman
Alma mater	Al-Azhar University
Profession	Religious teacher

Fadzil became the Deputy President of PAS in 1983, when Yusof Rawa ascended to the party's presidency. The election of Yusof and Fadzil marked a victory for the party's conservative ulama faction. Both men wanted PAS to advocate for an Islamic state in Malaysia modelled on the one that had arisen in Iran following the 1979 revolution there.[2]

When Yusof resigned due to health reasons in 1989, Fadzil became PAS's President. He set PAS on a more moderate path, diverting from the hardline Islamism of Yusof's presidency. This involved reorienting the party's platform away from the propagation of religious doctrine towards a greater focus on social and economic issues such as poverty alleviation.[3] This approach brought greater electoral success for the party. PAS captured the state of Kelantan at the 1990 election and Terengganu in 1999.[4] His presidency saw the formation of the Barisan Alternatif coalition between PAS, the Democratic Action Party and Keadilan, which made large gains in the 1999 election.[5] In the face of criticism from the party's conservatives, he justified cooperation with non-Muslim opposition parties by arguing that PAS's 'struggle for justice' was 'not only for the Malays, not only for the Muslims, but for all Malaysians'.[6]

Fadzil also set about infusing the party's youth ranks with urban professionals, such as Hatta Ramli, Dzulkefly Ahmad and Nasharudin Mat Isa, to diversify the party's future leadership beyond religious clerics.[7]

Fadzil died on 23 June 2002 after undergoing heart bypass surgery.[8] He was succeeded as PAS President and leader of the opposition in Parliament by Abdul Hadi Awang.

He was an alumnus of Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt.[9]

Early life and education

Fadzil was born in Kampung Seberang Pumpung, Alor Setar, Kedah. He is the eldest of four siblings. His father was Mohd Noor Abdul Hamid and his mother Hindun Haji Abdul Rahman. His great-grandfather, Tuan Guru Haji Idris Al-Jarumi was a respected scholar from Pattani, Thailand.

He received his early education at the Derga Malay School (1946-1951), Derga, Alor Setar and Maktab Mahmud (1951 -1959) before furthering his studies at Al Azhar University, Egypt (1963-1967) majoring in Islamic Law from 1963 to 1967. His higher-education was sponsored by the Kedah government. In 1967, during his time in Egypt, he held the position of Secretary and Deputy President of the Egyptian Malay Association of Egypt (PMRAM).

Educational career

Upon returning from Egypt he taught at Maktab Mahmud and later as a lecturer at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) (1973-1978). He was fired from UTM for contesting in the 1978 Malaysian general election as a candidate for the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS). He brought the case to court as the dismissal did not follow the correct channels. The court ordered UTM to pay damages and to reinstate Fadzil as a lecturer. Fadzil later resigned as a lecturer to pursue political activities full-time.

ABIM President

Ustaz Fadzil Noor had been the Information Secretary of the Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM) (1973-1974) and ABIM Deputy President (1974-1978) and Secretary of the Malaysian Ulama Association (PUM) (1974-1976). ABIM actively spread books and writings of the Muslim Brotherhood such as Hassan al Banna, Syed Qutb and Jamiat Islami, Maududi. Some PUM leaders have also been prominent members of PAS including Ustaz Ahmad Awang and Ustaz Abdul Ghani Shamsuddin.

Fadzil Noor was appointed President of ABIM when Anwar Ibrahim was arrested under the Internal Security Act 1960 in 1974 following the Baling Demonstrations caused by a famine in Baling.

Political career

Fadzil's political career began in 1978 when he stood as the PAS candidate against Datuk Senu Abdul Rahman for the Kuala Kedah parliamentary seat. However, he was unable to defeat the incumbent. In the same election, PAS was defeated in Kelantan, which it had ruled since 1959 by the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition who formed the federal government. He became the PAS President of the Kuala Kedah area and the Kedah PAS State Liaison Member. In 1981, he was elected as Vice President of PAS and served in the position until 1982. In 1983, Fadzil and Yusof Rawa were elected as Deputy President and President respectively. Their election signified a take-over by the party's conservative ulama faction who advocated for the establishment of an Islamic state. On March 30, 1989 he was elected as President of PAS after the retirement of Rawa. His presidency saw a moderation of the party's rhetoric whilst remaining committed to the establishment of an Islamic state. In the 1990 Malaysian general election Fadzil led the party into an informal alliance with the UMNO-breakaway group Semangat 46 and other Islamic parties called Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah (APU). PAS was able to win an additional 6 seats in parliament and the APU won all of the 39 state legislate assembly seats in Kelantan.

In 1998, he was appointed as Chairman of Gerakan Keadilan Rakyat Malaysia. The organisation was set up by PAS, the Democratic Action Party (DAP), and the Malaysian People's Party (PRM). The organisation included 15 non-governmental organizations and various individuals and sought to uphold justice after the sacking of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as Deputy Prime Minister and his detention without trial under the ISA the same year by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

In the 1999 Malaysian general election Fadzil stood as a candidate for the Anak Bukit state assembly seat as well as a candidate for the Pendang parliamentary seat. He was able to win both seats. Fadzil's victory coincided with PAS' biggest electoral victory in history, where they were able to win an additional 20 seats and re-take the state of Terrenganu whilst contesting together with the DAP, PRM and the newly-formed Parti KeADILan Nasional (now Parti Keadilan Rakyat) as part of the Barisan Alternatif coalition. In 1999 he was appointed Leader of the Opposition (Malaysia) in the Dewan Rakyat succeeding Lim Kit Siang as PAS had become the largest opposition party in parliament.

Death

Fadzil died as a result of complications following a heart bypass surgery 23 June 2002. He was survived by a wife and eight children.[8]

Election results

Parliament of Malaysia

Year	Constituency			Votes	Pct	Opponent(s)		Votes	Pct	Ballots cast	Majority	Turnout
1978	Kuala Kedah		Fadzil Noor (PAS)	14,028	47.97%		Senu Abdul Rahman (UMNO)	14,907	50.98%	29,243	879
							Yaacob @ Salleh Abdullah (IND)	337	1.41%
1982	Ulu Muda		Fadzil Noor (PAS)	11,711	43.40%		Hashim Endut (UMNO)	15,271	56.60%	27,803	3,560	81.29%
1986	Kuala Kedah		Fadzil Noor (PAS)	14,035	46.74%		Mohammad Abu Bakar Rautin Ibrahim (UMNO)	15,992	53.26%	30,775	1,957	72.13%
1990	Pendang		Fadzil Noor (PAS)	17,349	45.77%		Othman Abdul (UMNO)	20,554	54.23%	38,768	3,205	82.57%
1995	Kuala Kedah		Fadzil Noor (PAS)	19,223	46.40%		Zakaria Mohd Said (UMNO)	22,209	53.60%	42,612	2,986	74.23%
1999	Pendang		Fadzil Noor (PAS)	22,413	53.51%		Othman Abdul (UMNO)	19,474	46.49%	43,292	2,939	81.08%

Kedah State Legislative Assembly

Year	Constituency			Votes	Pct	Opponent(s)		Votes	Pct	Ballots cast	Majority	Turnout
1982	Bukit Raya		Fadzil Noor (PAS)		%		Haji Safirol Haji Hasim (UMNO)		%		346	%
							Mohd Mokhtar Abdullah (IND)		%
1986			Fadzil Noor (PAS)		%		Ahmad Zakuan Haji Ahmad (UMNO)		%		2,215	%
1990			Fadzil Noor (PAS)		%		Syed Mansor Barakbah (UMNO)		%		1,829	%
1995			Fadzil Noor (PAS)		%		Fadzil Hanafi (UMNO)		%		2,414	%
1999	Anak Bukit		Fadzil Noor (PAS)	8,480	%		Abdullah Hasnan Kamaruddin (UMNO)	6,640	%		1,840	%

Honours

•  Kedah :
  • Knight Companion of the Order of Loyalty to the Royal House of Kedah (DSDK) - Dato' (1998)[10]

References

1. "Islam and Violence in Malaysia" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
2. Stark, Jan. "Constructing an Islamic Model in Two Malaysian States: PAS Rule in Kelantan and Terengganu". Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia (April 2004) – via Questia.
3. Liow, Joseph Chinyong (2009). Piety and Politics: Islamism in Contemporary Malaysia. Oxford University Press. p. 76 – via Questia.
4. Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid (2006). "5". In Saw Swee-Hock (ed.). Malaysia: Recent Trends and Challenges. K. Kesavapany. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 110 – via Questia.
5. "The Passing of Datuk Fadzil Noor, a Great Malaysian". Aliran Monthly. Archived from the original on 6 June 2008. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
6. Liow, Joseph Chinyong (2009). Piety and Politics: Islamism in Contemporary Malaysia. Oxford University Press. p. 77 – via Questia.
7. Liew Chin Tong (1 January 2007). "PAS LEADERSHIP: New Faces and Old Constraints". Southeast Asian Affairs – via Questia.
8. "Fadzil Noor, a Malaysian Islamist, Dies at 65". The New York Times. 25 June 2002. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
9. "Death of PAS leader leaves party facing difficult decisions - Media Monitors Network (MMN)". Media Monitors Network (MMN). 8 July 2002. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
10. "Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat".

Political offices
Preceded by Lim Kit Siang	Leader of the Opposition of Malaysia 1999–2002	Succeeded by Abdul Hadi Awang
Party political offices
Preceded by Yusof Rawa	President of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party 1989–2002	Succeeded by Abdul Hadi Awang