Wan Mokhtar Ahmad

Wan Mokhtar bin Wan Ahmad (21 March 1932 – 21 September 2020) was a Malaysian politician who served as the 11th Menteri Besar of Terengganu. In office for 25 years, he was the longest-serving head of the Terengganu state government (1974 - 1999). He also served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Kemaman (1964 - 1974) and Member of the Terengganu State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Cukai (1974 - 1999).[1]

In this Malay name, there is no family name. The name Wan Ahmad is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Mokhtar. The Arabic-derived word "bin" or "binti"/"binte", if used, means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.
Yang Berbahagia Dato' Seri Amar Diraja Tan Sri Dato' Seri Haji
Wan Mokhtar Wan Ahmad
PSM SSMT DA SPMT KMN DPMJ JP PJK
وان مختار وان أحمد
10th Menteri Besar of Terengganu
In office
1 September 1974 – 2 December 1999
MonarchsIsmail Nasiruddin
Mahmud
Mizan Zainal Abidin
Preceded byNik Hassan Wan Abdul Rahman (UMNO)
Succeeded byAbdul Hadi Awang (PAS)
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Kemaman
In office
25 April 1964 – 23 August 1974
Preceded byWan Yahya Wan Mohamed
Succeeded byWan Abdul Kadir Ismail
Member of the Terengganu State Legislative Assembly
for Cukai
In office
24 August 1974 – 29 November 1999
Malaysian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
In office
23 November 2000 – 1 June 2005
MonarchSirajuddin
Prime MinisterMahathir Mohamad
(2000–03)
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (2003–05)
Preceded byShapi Abu Samah
Succeeded byIsmail Ibrahim
Personal details
Born
Wan Mokhtar bin Wan Ahmad

21 March 1932
Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Unfederated Malay States, British Malaya (now Malaysia)
Died21 September 2020(2020-09-21) (aged 88)
Prince Court Medical Centre, Ampang, Kuala Lumpur
Resting placeSection 21 Muslim Cemetery, Shah Alam, Selangor
Political partyUnited Malays National Organisation (UMNO)
Other political
affiliations		Alliance Party
Barisan Nasional (BN)
Spouse
Aishahtun Mohd Fadlullah Suhaimi
​
​
(died 2018)​
Children5
Alma materAl-Azhar University

Wan Mokhtar was a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) in the then-ruling Alliance and Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. He was an ally of the similarly longest-serving Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. In 1987, he was elected the vice-president of UMNO, alongside Anwar Ibrahim, under Mahathir's running team.[2]

His political prominence in the state came to an end in the 1999 state election, when the then-opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) ousted the Barisan Nasional (BN) state government with a landslide victory. He also lost his Chukai state seat then.[3] He was then appointed as the Malaysian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 2000 to 2005.[1]

Personal life

Wan Mokhtar was married to Aishahtun Mohd Fadlullah Suhaimi (1937–2018) and the couple had five children.[4][5] One of his sons, Wan Abdul Hakim was elected twice consecutively in the 2008 and 2013 state election to be the MLA of the Air Putih state assembly constituency from 2008 to 2018.[6][7]

Death

On 21 September 2020, Wan Mokhtar died at 6:20 a.m. at Prince Court Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur due to heart complications. He was 88 years old and is survived by his 5 children.[8][9][10] He was laid to rest at the Section 21 Muslim Cemetery in Shah Alam, Selangor.[11][12]

Election results
Parliament of Malaysia
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
1964 P029 Kemaman, Terengganu Wan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO) 10,153 64.20% Wan Hamid Wan Ibrahim (SF) 3,072 19.43% 16,556 7,081 75.21%
Syed Noh Alwee (PMIP) 2,589 16.37%
1969 Wan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO) 9,428 52.49% Wan Yahya Wan Mohamed (PMIP) 8,534 47.51% 18,872 894 70.02%
Terengganu State Legislative Assembly[13][14]
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
1974 N28 Chukai Wan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO)
1978 Wan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO)
1982 Wan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO)
1986 N31 Cukai Wan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO) 5,562 67.13% Awang Dagang Yusof (PAS) 2,566 30.97% 8,650 2,996 72.17%
Zainal Abidin Mustaffa (SDP) 158 1.91%
1990 Wan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO) 6,206 58.39% Alias Abdul Rahman (S46) 4,422 41.60% 10,962 1,784 77.70%
1995 Wan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO)
1999 Wan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO) Awang Jusoh (PAS)

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

References
  1. "Terengganu people will remember Wan Mokhtar for his services". Malay Mail. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  2. Sankaran Ramanathan; Mohd Hamdan Adnan (1988). Malaysia's 1986 General Election: The Urban-rural Dichotomy. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 77.
  3. "Wan Mokhtar says he is not solely to blame for defeat". New Straits Times. 4 December 1999. p. 4. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  4. "Isteri bekas Menteri Besar Terengganu meninggal". Berita Harian (in Malay). 21 April 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  5. "Jenazah isteri bekas MB Terengganu selamat dikebumi". Berita Harian (in Malay). 21 April 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  6. Zubaidah Abu Bakar (9 May 2014). "All eyes on Terengganu MB as rumours run wild". Rakyat Post. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  7. "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Results only available from the 2004 election.
  8. Martin Carvalho (21 September 2020). "Former Terengganu MB Wan Mokthar Ahmad, 88, dies of heart complications". The Star Online. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  9. SAID, ROSALINDA MD (21 September 2020). "Wan Mokhtar meninggal dunia". Utusan Malaysia (in Malay). Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  10. Mokhtar, Nor Azizah (21 September 2020). "Bekas MB Terengganu meninggal dunia". Berita Harian (in Malay). Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  11. Noh, Norzamira Che (21 September 2020). "Jenazah Wan Mokhtar selamat dikebumikan". Berita Harian (in Malay). Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  12. MUHAMMAD, ASYRAF (21 September 2020). "Jenazah Allahyarham Wan Mokhtar selamat dikebumikan". Sinar Harian (in Malay). Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  13. General Election 86 Results. New Straits Times. 5 August 1986.
  14. General Election 90 Results. New Straits Times. 23 October 1990.
  15. "Senarai Penuh Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan Tahun 1971" (PDF).
  16. "Senarai Penuh Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan Tahun 1988" (PDF).
  17. "Dato' Seri Amar Diraja Tan Sri Wan Mokhtar bin Wan Ahmad". National Archives of Malaysia (in Malay). Malaysia. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
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