Ghafar Baba
Tun Abdul Ghafar bin Baba (Jawi: عبدالغفار بن باب; February 18, 1925 – April 23, 2006) was a Malaysian politician from Malacca who was Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1986 to 1993.
Yang Amat Berbahagia Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba | |
---|---|
عبدالغفار بن باب | |
6th Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia | |
In office 10 May 1986 – 1 December 1993 | |
Monarch | Iskandar Azlan Shah |
Prime Minister | Mahathir Mohamad |
Preceded by | Musa Hitam |
Succeeded by | Anwar Ibrahim |
Constituency | Jasin |
Minister of Rural Development (Minister of National and Rural Development : 23 September 1970–11 May 1972, 11 August 1986–20 May 1987) (Minister of Rural Economy Development : 11 May 1972–25 August 1974) | |
In office 11 August 1986 – 1 December 1993 | |
Monarch | Iskandar Azlan Shah |
Prime Minister | Mahathir Mohamad |
Deputy | Tajol Rosli Mohd Ghazali (1986–1990) Ng Cheng Kuai (1986–1987) Mohd. Yasin Kamari (1990–1993) |
Preceded by | Sanusi Junid |
Succeeded by | Annuar Musa |
Constituency | Jasin |
In office 22 December 1970 – 4 September 1974 | |
Monarch | Abdul Halim |
Prime Minister | Abdul Razak Hussein |
Assistant Minister | Abdul Samad Idris (1970–1973) |
Preceded by | Abdul Razak Hussein |
Succeeded by | Himself as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development |
Constituency | Malacca Utara |
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development | |
In office 5 September 1974 – 14 January 1976 | |
Monarch | Abdul Halim Yahya Petra |
Prime Minister | Abdul Razak Hussein |
Deputy | Mokhtar Hashim (1974–1975) Mustapha Abdul Jabar (1975–1976) |
Preceded by | Himself (Rural Development) Mohamed Ghazali Jawi (Agriculture) |
Succeeded by | Ali Ahmad |
Constituency | Alor Gajah |
2nd Chief Minister of Malacca | |
In office 1 June 1959 – 5 October 1967 | |
Governor | Leong Yew Koh Abdul Malek Yusuf |
Preceded by | Osman Talib |
Succeeded by | Talib Karim |
Constituency | Tanjong Kling |
Personal details | |
Born | Abdul Ghafar bin Baba 18 February 1925 Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan, British Malaya (now Malaysia) |
Died | 23 April 2006 81) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | (aged
Resting place | Makam Pahlawan, Masjid Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
Citizenship | Malaysian |
Political party | United Malays National Organisation |
Spouse(s) | Asmah Alang Dayang Heryati Abdul Rahim |
Relations | Ahmad Hamzah (son in law) |
Occupation | Teacher |
Life and career
He was born on 18 February 1925 in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan, the son of an impoverished villager. Ghafar Baba became a teacher and later became a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) political party, which is part of the Barisan Nasional coalition.
In 1942, he married Toh Puan Asmah Binti Alang and fathered twelve children, five of whom have died. In the early 1990s, he married his second wife Toh Puan Heryati Abdul Rahim, and had one child with her.
In 1986, he was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Previously, Musa Hitam held the deputy premiership but he resigned, citing irreconcilable differences with Mahathir.[1] On 15 October 1993, during a UMNO election, he was challenged by Anwar Ibrahim. Ghafar Baba was defeated by Anwar and subsequently lost the deputy premiership.
On 23 April 2006, he died at Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur due to poor heart and lung condition. He had been in critical condition for several months prior to his death. He was buried in an official state funeral at Makam Pahlawan near Masjid Negara, Kuala Lumpur on the same day alongside the graves of former Prime Ministers Tun Abdul Razak and Tun Hussein Onn and former Deputy Prime Minister Tun Dr Ismail before nightfall.[2][3]
Posts
- Teachers' Union secretary (1946–1948)
- Melaka UMNO Secretary (1951)
- Melaka UMNO Chairman (1955)
- Chief Minister of Malacca (1959–1963)
- UMNO High Council member (1957)
- UMNO Information Chief (1958)
- UMNO Vice-President (1962–1987)
- Barisan Nasional Secretary-General [1]
- Federal Territory Barisan Nasional Chief [1]
- Deputy Prime Minister (1986–1993)
Election results
Year | Constituency | Votes | Pct | Opponent(s) | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1969 | Malacca Utara | Abdul Ghafar Baba (UMNO) | 15,692 | 63.86% | Ali Md. Salleh (PAS) | 8,881 | 36.14% | 26,088 | 6,811 | 78.49% | ||
1974 | Alor Gajah | Abdul Ghafar Baba (UMNO) | 20,890 | 78.89% | Abdul Ghani Long (PEKEMAS) | 5,591 | 21.11% | Unknown | 15,299 | Unknown | ||
1978 | Jasin | Abdul Ghafar Baba (UMNO) | Unknown | Unknown | Abdul Karim Abu (DAP) | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | 12,067 | Unknown | ||
1982 | Abdul Ghafar Baba (UMNO) | 27,542 | 81.07% | Salleh Ayob (PAS) | 6,432 | 18.93% | 35,657 | 21,110 | 76.54% | |||
1986 | Abdul Ghafar Baba (UMNO) | 20,772 | 76.35% | Rahimin Bani (PAS) | 6,436 | 23.65% | 28,200 | 14,336 | 71.21% | |||
1990 | Abdul Ghafar Baba (UMNO) | 22,826 | 72.46% | Aris Konil (S46) | 8,674 | 27.54% | 32,519 | 14,152 | 77.93% | |||
1995 | Abdul Ghafar Baba (UMNO) | 25,693 | 78.19% | Ahmad Mohd Alim (PAS) | 4,856 | 14.78% | 34,181 | 20,837 | 75.80% | |||
Aris Konil (S46) | 2,310 | 7.03% | ||||||||||
1999 | Batu Berendam | Abdul Ghafar Baba (UMNO) | 37,656 | 55.36% | Khalid Jaafar (KeADILan) | 30,368 | 44.64% | 69,592 | 7,288 | 78.82% |
Honours
Honours of Malaysia
Malaysia : Grand Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (SSM) - Tun (1995)[4]
Federal Territory (Malaysia) : Grand Knight of the Order of the Territorial Crown (SUMW) - Datuk Seri Utama (2017)[5]
Places named after him
Several places were named after him, including:
- Persiaran Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba, a major road at Peringgit, Melaka.
- Persimpangan Tun Abdul Ghafar, an intersections between Jalan Batu Berendam, Persiaran Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba and Lebuh Ayer Keroh at Peringgit, Melaka.
- The Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba Memorial, a memorial and museum in honour of his achievements located at Persiaran Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba in Peringgit, Melaka.
- MRSM Tun Ghafar Baba an institution facilities at Jasin, Melaka.
- SMK Ghafar Baba (formerly SMK Masjid Tanah), a secondary school at Masjid Tanah, Melaka.
- Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba Mosque, Sungai Udang, Melaka.
- Six FELDA settlements were renamed after him, they are FELDA Tun Ghafar Machap, FELDA Tun Ghafar Hutan Percha, FELDA Tun Ghafar Menggong, FELDA Tun Ghafar Kemendor, FELDA Tun Ghafar Air Kangkong and FELDA Tun Ghafar Bukit Senggeh.
- Kolej Tun Ghafar Baba, a residential college at Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Kuala Perlis, Perlis
- Kolej Tun Ghafar Baba, a residential college at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor
Notes and references
- Putra, Tunku Abdul Rahman (1986). Political Awakening, p. 86. Pelanduk Publications. ISBN 967-978-136-4.
- http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/4/24/nation/14044647&sec=nation%5B%5D
- http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/4/24/nation/14046759&sec=nation%5B%5D
- "Senarai Penuh Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan Tahun 1995" (PDF).
- "Senarai Penerima Darjah Kebesaran Wilayah Persekutuan Tahun 2017".
Preceded by Musa Hitam |
Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia 1986 – 1 December 1993 |
Succeeded by Anwar Ibrahim |