Pehin Sri Tan Sri
The Malay language has a complex system of styles, titles and honorifics which are used extensively in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the southern Philippines.
Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and several provinces in Indonesia regul ...
Haji
Hajji ( ar, الحجّي; sometimes spelled Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. It is also often used to refer to an elder, since it ...
Adenan bin Haji Satem ( ms, حاج عدنان بن حاج صتيم , label=
Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 27 January 1944 – 11 January 2017), popularly known as Tok Nan, was a
Malaysian
Malaysian may refer to:
* Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia
* Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia
* Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
who served as the fifth
chief minister of Sarawak
The Premier of Sarawak is the head of Government of Sarawak, government in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, Malaysian state of Sarawak. The premier is appointed by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak, Yang di-Pertua Negeri, also kn ...
from March 2014 to his death in January 2017. During his tenure, Adenan held the position as the President of
Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu
Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB; en, United Bumiputera Heritage Party) is a right-wing political party in Malaysia. It is currently the largest political party in Sarawak. Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu was formed from the combination o ...
(PBB), which is part of the
Barisan Nasional
The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 se ...
coalition. He was of
Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
descent.
Early life
Adenan was born in
Kuching
Kuching (), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River ...
,
Sarawak
Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...
during its
occupation by Japan in World War II. He received his early education at St. Joseph's Primary School, and later at St. Joseph's Secondary School.
He once worked as a
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
and
teacher
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
before pursuing his studies in law at the
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. Upon graduating in 1970, he was appointed as
Magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
from 1971 to 1972. He was appointed assistant secretary for the
Ministry of Primary Industries from 1972 to 1974.
Political career
Adenan's political career began in 1976 when he was appointed as the legal advisor and a committee member of
Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu
Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB; en, United Bumiputera Heritage Party) is a right-wing political party in Malaysia. It is currently the largest political party in Sarawak. Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu was formed from the combination o ...
(PBB) Later in 1979, he contested in elections and won twice, the first in a by-election for the
Muara Tuang constituency in January, and the
third Sarawak state election several months later in the same constituency. Adenan was the member of the
Sarawak State Legislative Assembly
The Sarawak State Legislative Assembly is the legislative chamber of the unicameral legislature of the Malaysian state of Sarawak; the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak forms the other part of the legislature. The Assembly is modelled after the ...
(MLA) for Muara Tuang from 1979 onwards until he moved to the
Tanjong Datu constituency for the
2006 state election, where he won. Apart from that, he also became the
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
for
Batang Sadong after winning the
2004 general election.
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Tun Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi ( Jawi: عبد الله بن احمد بدوي; born 26 November 1939) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia from October 2003 to April 2009. He was also the sixth president of ...
appointed him as the
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment. He, however, gave up the post in 2006 and returned to Sarawak. In 2010, he was appointed as the special advisor to
Chief Minister
A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...
Abdul Taib Mahmud
Abdul Taib bin Mahmud ( Jawi: عبدالطيب بن محمود; born 21 May 1936) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the 7th Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak since March 2014. He served as the 4th Chief Minister of Sarawak for 33 years ...
, and later in 2011 as
State Minister with Special Functions.
[
Adenan played a role in the ]1987 Ming Court Affair
The Ming Court Affair was a political coup in Sarawak, Malaysia that began in 1983, developed into a full-blown political crisis during 1987 state election, and ended after the Sarawak Malaysian People's Association (PERMAS) was dissolved in 19 ...
, a crisis that involved a power tussle between Abdul Taib Mahmud and the then governor Abdul Rahman Ya'kub
Tun Datuk Patinggi Haji Abdul Rahman bin Ya'kub ( ms, عبدالرحمن بن يعقوب, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 3 January 1928 – 9 January 2015) was a Malaysian politician of Melanau descent from Mukah. He was the third C ...
. Abdul Rahman was the previous chief minister and Taib's uncle. The crisis helped trigger the 1987 state election after four ministers and three deputy ministers aligned to Abdul Rahman resigned from Taib's cabinet. Adenan sided with Taib, who emerged as the victor in the crisis. Two years earlier, Adenan was appointed by Taib as PBB publicity chief as the former sought to purge Abdul Rahman's influence in the party. In 1987 soon after the seven resignations, Adenan was appointed as the state minister for land development in the Taib cabinet.
Chief Minister
In March 2014, Adenan Satem succeeded Abdul Taib Mahmud
Abdul Taib bin Mahmud ( Jawi: عبدالطيب بن محمود; born 21 May 1936) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the 7th Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak since March 2014. He served as the 4th Chief Minister of Sarawak for 33 years ...
as Chief Minister of Sarawak. He officially took the oath of office in a ceremony held at Astana
Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan.
The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmo ...
on 28 February 2014, Later that year, in conjunction with the Governor of Sarawak's 78th Birthday, he was awarded the "Datuk Patinggi" title. Prior to the 2016 Sarawak state election
The eleventh Sarawak state election was held on Saturday, 7 May 2016 after nomination for candidates on Monday, 25 April 2016. The 82 members of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly, were elected in single-member constituencies using first-pas ...
, he was praised for inspiring support among Chinese voters. He won his seat of Tanjung Datu with 93.4% of the popular vote. His party won 72 of the 82 available seats.
Relationship with Peninsular Malaysia
As a chief minister, he clashed with federal government from time to time despite his party being part of the ruling federal coalition. He spoke openly about strengthening Sarawak's autonomy and called for higher state's share of petroleum royalty, much to the consternation of Putrajaya and the national oil company Petronas
Petroliam Nasional Berhad (National Petroleum Limited), commonly known as Petronas, is a Malaysian oil and gas company. Established in 1974 and wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia, the corporation is vested with all oil and gas reso ...
. Among other issues he disagreed with the federal government included official recognition for Unified Examination Certificate (UEC). During his capacity as chief minister, he also announced that Sarawak has adopted English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
as the official language of the state's administration, apart from Bahasa Malaysia
Malaysian Malay ( ms, Bahasa Melayu Malaysia), also known as Standard Malay (Malay: ''Bahasa Melayu Standard''), ( English translation: Malaysian language), or simply Malay, is a standardized form of the Malay language used in Malaysia (as o ...
. Malay language activists has critised Adenan for making English as one of the official languages of Sarawak.
Adenan also advocated the policy of 90% of all teachers from Sarawak should be Sarawakians because only people from Sarawak are sensitive to local needs. He further suggest that educational matters should be handled by the state government so that the rural schools are better looked after. His stance has received criticism for promoting regionalism in a country. Sarawak also started to recognise UEC, in contrast to federal government that does not recognise the UEC certificate. Najib Razak
Dato' Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak ( ms, محمد نجيب بن عبد الرزاق, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 6th prime minister of Malaysi ...
, the then head of the federal government responded positively to demands made by Sarawak. He also appointed a committee, co-chaired by Nancy Shukri (Sarawak) an Anifah Aman
Anifah bin Haji Aman @ Haniff Amman ( Jawi: عنيفه بن أمان @ حنيف أمان; born 16 November 1953) is a Malaysian politician. Presently he is the President of Love Sabah Party (PCS). He formerly had served as the Minister of Forei ...
(Sabah) to study the devolution of powers to Sabah and Sarawak under federal constitution. At the same time, the federal government leaders was preoccupied with various issues such as resignation of deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin
Tan Sri Dato' Haji Mahiaddin bin Md Yasin (born 15 May 1947), commonly known as Muhyiddin bin Muhammad Yassin ( ms, محيي الدين بن محمد ياسين, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; ), is a Malaysian politician who serv ...
for protesting against 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal
The 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, often referred to as the 1MDB scandal or just 1MDB, describes a corruption, bribery and money laundering conspiracy in which the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) was ...
, Sabah State Water Department corruption probe
The Sabah State Water Department corruption probe ( Malay: ''Siasatan Rasuah Jabatan Air Negeri Sabah'') refers to a 2015 to 2016 widespread investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over the alleged abuse of power inside t ...
, and economic slowdown due to low prices of raw materials.
Meanwhile, the opposition leaders from the Peninsular Malaysia has held negative opinions regarding Adenan's pronouncements. Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad
Mahathir bin Mohamad ( ms, محاضير بن محمد, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author, and physician who served as the 4th and 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the office ...
stated that such acts would weaken the authority of the federal government. Other leaders such as Mohamad Sabu
Mohamad bin Sabu ( Jawi: محمد بن سابو), commonly known as Mat Sabu, is a Malaysian politician who has served as the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration under Prime Minister Anwar Ibra ...
and Azmin Ali
Mohamed Azmin bin Ali ( Jawi: محمد عزمين بن علي; born 25 August 1964) is a Malaysian politician who served as Senior Minister of the Economic Cluster and as Minister of International Trade and Industry from 2020 to 2022. A memb ...
stated that Najib had failed to check Adenan from demanding more from the federal government. Adenan's action of barring opposition leaders from Peninsular Malaysia from campaigning in the state of Sarawak during 2016 Sarawak state election
The eleventh Sarawak state election was held on Saturday, 7 May 2016 after nomination for candidates on Monday, 25 April 2016. The 82 members of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly, were elected in single-member constituencies using first-pas ...
further exacerbates the negative sentiments from the opposition camps.
Besides, Adenan also reinstated that Sarawak would not secede from Malaysia as "it was the wisest decision made by Sarawak 53 years ago".
Death
On 11 January 2017, Adenan died of heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
at the Sarawak Heart Centre, Kota Samarahan
Kota Samarahan, formerly known as Muara Tuang, is a town and the administrative seat of the Samarahan District in Samarahan Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. It is also a satellite town for Kuching due to its proximity to the city part of Great ...
, aged 72 years old. The untimely demise is the first occurrence to a serving Sarawak Chief Minister. He was laid to rest at Samariang Muslim Cemetery in Kuching.
His death was mourned by Sarawakians throughout the week, and many leaders attended his funeral in Kuching
Kuching (), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River ...
.
Credentials
His other credentials were:
* Chairman of Sarawak Foundation (1998-2017)
* Chairman of Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus
Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus is the foreign branch campus of Swinburne University of Technology, Swinburne University and is located in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. Established in 2000, Swinburne Sarawak operates as a partne ...
Council (2004-2017)
* Chairman of the Sarawak Malay Culture Foundation (Amanah Khairat Yayasan Budaya Melayu Sarawak)
* Board of directors for Sarawak Higher Education Foundation (SHEF)
* Board member of the Curtin University, Malaysia
Curtin University Malaysia, previously known as Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia is a private university in Miri, Sarawak and is the largest international campus of Curtin University, a university based in Perth, Western Australia. It has ...
* Chairman, Natural Resources and Environment Board Sarawak (NREB)
* Pro-Chancellor of the Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus
Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus is the foreign branch campus of Swinburne University of Technology, Swinburne University and is located in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. Established in 2000, Swinburne Sarawak operates as a partne ...
(2014-2017)
Honours
Honours of Malaysia
* :
**
Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia
The Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Setia Mahkota Malaysia) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country and awarded by the sovereign.
The order was instituted on ...
(PSM) – Tan Sri (2010)
* :
**
Grand Commander of the Exalted Order of Malacca
''Exalted'' is a high fantasy tabletop role-playing game originally published by White Wolf Publishing in July 2001. The game is currently in its third edition. It was originally created by Robert Hatch, Justin Achilli and Stephan Wieck, and wa ...
(DGSM) – Datuk Seri (2016)
* :
**
Meritorious Service Medal (Silver) (PPB)
**
Knight Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak
The ''Darjah Utama Yang Amat Mulia Bintang Sarawak'' (Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak) is the highest state order in the state of Sarawak. It is conferred to those who rendered excellent service towards the development of the state of S ...
(PNBS) – Dato Sri (1990)
** Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak (DA) – Datuk Amar (2009)
** Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak (DP) – Datuk Patinggi (2014)
**
Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of Sarawak (SBS) – Pehin Sri (Posthumous) (2017)
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Satem, Adenan
1944 births
2017 deaths
Melanau people
People from Sarawak
People from Kuching
Malaysian people of Malay descent
Malaysian Muslims
Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu politicians
Chief Ministers of Sarawak
Government ministers of Malaysia
Sarawak state ministers
Members of the Dewan Rakyat
Members of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly
Knights Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak
Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia
Knights Grand Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak
Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak
Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak
University of Adelaide alumni