Mohamed Rahmat

Mohamed bin Rahmat (4 January 1938 – 1 January 2010)[1] was a Malaysian politician, and former Information Minister of Malaysia (1978–1982, 1987–1999). He was famously known as Tok Mat, Mat Setia and Mat Mr Propaganda.[2]

In this Malay name, there is no family name. The name Rahmat is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Mohamed. The Arabic-derived word "bin" or "binti"/"binte", if used, means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.
Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri
Mohamed Rahmat
PSM DPMJ SPMJ SIMP SPDK SSSA SPMT SSIJ DPMS DGSM PNBS KMN PIS BSI
Ministerial roles
1971–1973Parliamentary Secretary of Education
1973–1974Deputy Minister of Finance
1974–1976Deputy Minister of Coordination of Public Corporations
1976–1978Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry
1978–1982Minister of Information
1987–1999Minister of Information
Faction represented in Dewan Rakyat
1969–1974Alliance Party
1974–1999Barisan Nasional
Other roles
1982–1985Ambassadors to Indonesia
Personal details
Born(1938-01-04)4 January 1938
Pulai, Johor Bahru, Johor, Unfederated Malay States, British Malaya (now Malaysia)
Died1 January 2010(2010-01-01) (aged 71)
Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Resting placeBukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
ChildrenNur Jazlan Mohamed
Alma materUniversity of Indonesia
OccupationPolitician

Personal life

Mohamed Rahmat was born on 4 January 1938 in the village of Pulai, Johor Bahru, Johor.

Political career

Mohamed Rahmat first elected as Member of Parliament of Johore Bahru Barat seat in 1969. He was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Education in Tun Razak first cabinet. He was the Member of Parliament for Pulai from 1969 to 1999 representing UMNO-Barisan Nasional. He was also appointed for a short time as the ambassador to Indonesia with a ministerial rank from 1982 to 1984.[1][3]

Rahmat was appointed as the Secretary-General of both the party of United Malays National Organisation from 1988 to 1996 and the ruling coalition of Barisan Nasional from 1988 to 1999.[4]

Career as Minister of Information

Rahmat has served as the Minister of Information two times during the administration of two different Prime Ministers: under Tun Hussein Onn from 1978 to 1982 and Mahathir Mohamad from 1987 to 1999.[4]

As the Minister of Information, Mohamed introduced the "Setia Bersama Rakyat" (Semarak) programme which was aimed at instilling patriotism among the people.[3]

One notorious account from his post in office was when he ordered rock singers to trim their long hair if they wanted to participate in programmes aired by public broadcaster Radio Televisyen Malaysia in 1992. Among those who followed the directive were the rock groups Wings, with lead singer Awie; and Search, with lead singer Amy.[5]

Death

Mohamed Rahmat died on 1 January 2010 in Kuala Lumpur at the age of 71, just three days before his 72nd birthday. His body was laid to rest at the Bukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery, Kuala Lumpur.

Legacy

Several places and honours were named after him, including:

Election results
Parliament of Malaysia[6]
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
1969 P101 Johore Bahru Barat, Johore Mohamed Rahmat (UMNO) 12,319 65.28% Daing Ibrahim Othman (DAP) 6,553 34.72% 19,789 5,766 93.51%
1974 P113 Pulai, Johor Mohamed Rahmat (UMNO) 18,835 75.79% A. Razak Ahmad (PSRM) 6,015 24.21% 26,346 12,820 81.73%
1978 Mohamed Rahmat (UMNO) 29,717 88.05% Abdul Hamid Abdul Rahim (PAS) 4,034 11.95% Unknown 25,683 Unknown
1982 Mohamed Rahmat (UMNO) 33,861 77.02% Abdullah Abdul Hamid (DAP) 10,105 22.98% 46,412 23,756 75.71%
1986 P131 Pulai, Johor Mohamed Rahmat (UMNO) 21,743 64.33% Gurdial Singh Nijan Sadu Singh (PSRM) 12,056 35.67% 34,904 9,687 70.75%
1990 Mohamed Rahmat (UMNO) 29,855 62.93% A. Razak Ahmad (PRM) 17,583 37.07% 49,140 12,272 76.08%
1995 P142 Pulai, Johor Mohamed Rahmat (UMNO) 36,871 83.16% Omar Sharif (S46) 7,468 16.84% 45,946 29,403 67.16%

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

References
  1. "Tok Mat dies". The Star. January 1, 2010. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  2. "Tok Mat 'Mr Propaganda' terbaik: Zukri". Malaysiakini. 1 January 2010.
  3. Azman Anuar (2 January 2010). "Tok Mat bangkitkan 'Semarak' rakyat". Utusan Malaysia (in Malay). Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  4. "Tok Mat meninggal tiga hari sebelum ulang tahun ke-72". Utusan Malaysia (in Malay). 2 January 2010. Archived from the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  5. "Haircuts end rock group ban". The Times. Associated Press. 2 November 1992. p. 13A. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  6. "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 27 June 2010. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  7. "Senarai Penuh Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan Tahun 1972" (PDF).
  8. "Senarai Penuh Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan Tahun 2000" (PDF).
  9. Johore Sultan's Birthday List Parade. New Straits Times. 3 November 1973.
  10. Johore Sultan honours 456 on his birthday. New Straits Times. 28 October 1975.
  11. "柔佛州苏丹殿下 昨庆八三岁华诞" [Johor Sultan Yesterday celebrate his 83th birthday]. 星洲日报. 29 October 1977. p. 7.
  12. "SEMAKAN PENERIMA DARJAH KEBESARAN, BINTANG DAN PINGAT". Prime Minister's Department (Malaysia). Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  13. "DPMS 1988". awards.selangor.gov.my.
  14. "SSSA 1990".
  15. "砂元首耶谷昨庆华诞三百余人受封各级荣衔" [More than 300 people were conferred honorary titles during the birthday celebration of Sarawak's Yang Di-Pertua, Yakub]. 星洲日报. 8 July 1981. p. 9.
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