Dato' Datuk (or its variant Dato or Datu) is a Malay title commonly used in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, as well as a traditional title by Minangkabau people in West Sumatra, Indonesia. The title of the wife of Datuk is Datin. Origin The oldes ...

Ali bin

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 ...

Ahmad (29 June 1930 – 4 December 1977) 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.

Political career

Ali was first elected to Parliament when he won the Pontian Selatan seat in the

1964 Malaysian general election A general election was held on Saturday, 25 April 1964 for members of the 2nd Parliament of Malaysia. Voting took place in 104 out of 159 parliamentary constituencies of Malaysia, each electing one Member of Parliament to the Dewan Rakyat, th ...

under the

Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

ticket, a seat he successfully defended in the

1969 Malaysian general election General elections were held in Malaysia on Saturday, 10 May 1969, although voting was postponed until between 6 June and 4 July 1970 in Sabah and Sarawak. This election marked the first parliamentary election held in Sabah and Sarawak after the ...

unopposed. Ali was the UMNO Division chief of Pontian after Pontian Selatan and Pontian Utara Parliamentary seat were merged before

1974 Malaysian general election General elections were held in Malaysia between Saturday, 24 August and Saturday, 14 September 1974.Nohlen ''et al''., p152 Voting took place in all 154 parliamentary constituencies of Malaysia, each electing one Member of Parliament to the Dew ...

. In the election, he won the newly created seat, Pontian by a

walkover John_Carpenter_was_disqualified,_prompting_his_teammates_John_Taylor_(athlete).html" ;"title="John_Carpenter_(athlete).html" "title="Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres">men's 400 metres running in a walkover. Americ ...

. Ali was first appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the then finance minister,

Tan Siew Sin Tun Tan Siew Sin (; 21 May 1916 – 17 March 1988) was a Malaysian politician who served as the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Minister of Finance, and 3rd President of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA, formerly Malayan Chinese Assoc ...

on 1965, in the third Tunku Abdul Rahman cabinet. He continued as assistant to Tan Siew Sin to in the final cabinet of Tunku Abdul Rahman in 1969, and promoted to Deputy Finance Minister in the first cabinet of Tun Abdul Razak. His portfolio was switched to Deputy

Minister of Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

in the January 1973 cabinet reshuffle, after the admittance of

Malaysian Islamic Party The Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS; ms, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia; ms, ڤرتي إسلام سمليسيا, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is an Islamist political party in Malaysia. As the party focused on Islamic fundamentalism, PAS's ...

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 Tun Dr. Ismail bin Abdul Rahman ( ms, إسماعيل بن عبدالرحمن, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 4 November 1915 – 2 August 1973) was a Malaysian politician who served as the second Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia from ...

, 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, 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 Hj Ahmad, a secondary school in Pontian, Johor, is named after him.

Election results

Honours

* : **

Recipient of the Malaysian Commemorative Medal (Silver) (PPM) (1965) * : **

Most Honourable Order of the Crown of Johor - ribbon bar

Companion of the

Order of the Crown of Johor The Most Honourable Order of the Crown of Johor ( Malay: ''Darjah Mahkota Johor Yang Amat Mulia'') is an Order of chivalry awarded by the Sultan of Johor. It was first instituted on July 31, 1886. It is awarded in three classes: *Knight Grand Co ...

(SMJ) (1972) **

Knight Grand Commander of the

(SPMJ) – Dato' (1973) ** Order of the Loyalty of Sultan Ismail (Johor) - ribbon bar

Knight Grand Companion of the Order of Loyalty of Sultan Ismail of Johor (SSIJ) – Dato' (1977)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali Ahmad 1930 births 1977 deaths Malaysian politicians People from Johor Malaysian people of Malay descent Malaysian Muslims United Malays National Organisation politicians Members of the Dewan Rakyat 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 Assassinated Malaysian politicians Malaysian murder victims 1970s assassinated politicians in Asia