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

Political career

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. 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 in 1964, in the third Tunku Abdul Rahman cabinet and was one of the young office-holders of the said position at only 34 years of age. He continued as assistant to Tan Siew Sin in the final cabinet of Tunku Abdul Rahman in 1969 and was promoted to Deputy Finance Minister in the first cabinet of Tun Abdul Razak. He then switched his portfolio as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs in the January 1973 cabinet reshuffle with fellow UMNO politician, Mohamed Yaacob, after the admittance of Malaysian Islamic Party in the Alliance-led government. 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, 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.

Personal life

He was married to Datin Halimah Abdul Rahim and the couple were blessed with 5 daughters.

Death and legacy

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, along with his press secretary Hood Fadzil. Ali was 47 years old. He was returning to Kuala Lumpur after a visit to Perlis.

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.

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.

Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Dato' Ali Ahmad, a secondary school in Pontian, Johor, is named after him, as a mark of token to his contributions as the member of parliament as well as his federal ministership.

Election results

Honours

•  Malaysia :
  • Recipient of the Malaysian Commemorative Medal (Silver) (PPM) (1965)
•  Johor :
  • Companion of the Order of the Crown of Johor (SMJ) (1971)
  • Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor (SPMJ) – Dato' (1973)
  • Knight Grand Companion of the Order of Loyalty of Sultan Ismail of Johor (SSIJ) – Dato' (1975)

Notes

1. The prefix "Yang Berhormat" is used for recipients of the First and Second Classes of the Johor's Orders of Chivalry.

References

1. Abdul Rahim Ramli (19 June 2010). "Syarat Ketat Anugerah Datuk Johor". mStar Online (in Malay). Retrieved 7 February 2021.
2. Biografi Dato' Ali Haji Ahmad
3. "Asri's men gets key job". 29 December 1972. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
4. "Parlimen Ketiga, Penggal Parlimen Ketiga" (PDF). Penyata Rasmi Parlimen, Dewan Rakyat. 3 (26). 26 November 1973. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
5. Penduduk imbau tragedi Tanjung Kupang
6. ^ "Night minister couldn't sleep". The Straits Times. eresources.nlb.gov.sg. 6 December 1977. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
7. Nadia Khairani (9 March 2022). "Hikmah di sebalik tragedi Tanjung Kupang 1977 - Bermulanya episod pembangunan". Bernama.com (in Malay). Bernama. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
8. "Remembering the good deeds of Hood 40 years on". New Straits Times. 30 July 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2022 – via PressReader.
9. Dawn Chan (15 September 2020). "MH653: The air disaster that hijacked Malaysia". www.nst.com.my. New Straits Times. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
10. "Parlimen Keempat, Penggal Ketiga" (PDF). Penyata Rasmi Parlimen, Dewan Rakyat. 5 December 1977. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
11. "Common burial for air crash victims". The Straits Times. eresources.nlb.gov.sg. 8 December 1977. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
12. Ministers head Sultan's awards list. New Straits Times. 16 November 1972.
13. Johore Sultan's Birthday List Parade. New Straits Times. 3 November 1973.

v t e First Razak cabinet (1970–1974)
Prime Minister: Abdul Razak Hussein
Ismail Abdul Rahman Hussein Onn Tan Siew Sin V. T. Sambanthan Sardon Jubir Khir Johari Jugah Barieng V. Manickavasagam Mohamed Ghazali Jawi Abdul Ghafar Baba Abdul Ghani Gilong Lee Siok Yew Asri Muda Hamzah Abu Samah Fatimah Hashim Ong Kee Hui Ghazali Shafie Ong Yoke Lin Abdul Taib Mahmud Lee San Choon Ali Ahmad Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen Tengku Ismail Mohamed Yaacob Michael Chen Wing Sum Aishah Ghani

v t e Second Razak cabinet (1974–1976)
Prime Minister: Abdul Razak Hussein
Hussein Onn Abdul Ghafar Baba Lee San Choon V. Manickavasagam Asri Muda Hamzah Abu Samah Ong Kee Hui Ghazali Shafie Abdul Ghani Gilong Lee Siok Yew Abdul Kadir Yusuf Aishah Ghani Abdul Taib Mahmud Ali Ahmad Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen Tengku Ismail Mohamed Yaacob Michael Chen Wing Sum Musa Hitam Mahathir Mohamad

• 1930 births
• 1977 deaths
• People from Johor
• Malaysian politicians of Malay descent
• Malaysian Muslims
• United Malays National Organisation politicians
• Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor
• Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Malaysia
• Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1977
• Malaysian murder victims
• Malaysian MPs 1964–1969
• Malaysian MPs 1971–1974
• Malaysian MPs 1974–1978