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 ...

Alias Md Ali (c. 1939 – 10 March 2014) was a Malaysian politician and former

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to event ...

editor of ''

Bernama The Malaysian National News Agency ( ms, Pertubuhan Berita Nasional Malaysia), is a news agency of the government of Malaysia. It is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia. Bernama (usually stylized in all caps) ...

''. He served as an MP for Hulu Terengganu from 1978 to 1995. He was also the former chairman of

Agro Bank Malaysia Agrobank is a Malaysian government-owned Bank under the purview of the Minister of Finance Incorporated, established in 1969 with focus on agriculture sector. The Bank's financing of the agricultural sector is driven by a policy set forth by ...

Personal life

Alias Md Ali was born in Kuala Berang, Terengganu. He received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...

in creative writing from

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of th ...

in the US. In 1950, he was elected the leader of the Hulu Terengganu Umno Youth. In 1960, he was appointed as the vice-chairman of the Terengganu Tengah Development Authority. In 1957, Alias began his career as a reporter for ''

Berita Harian ''BH'' (renamed on 2 July 2012; formerly known as ''Berita Harian'') is a Malay-language daily newspaper published in Malaysia owned by the New Straits Times Press. It was first published on 1 July 1957 as the first mainstream newspaper in M ...

''. He then joined the staff of the '' Utusan Melayu'' newspaper, where he became the paper's chief

news editor Copy editing (also known as copyediting and manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material ( copy) to improve readability and fitness, as well as ensuring that text is free of grammatical and factual errors. '' The Chicago Manual ...

from 1968 to 1970. In 1970, Alias Ali became the chief sub-editor of ''

Malaysian language 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 ...

division. He was later promoted to editor of the General News Service of ''Bernama''. He resigned from ''Bernama'' in 1978 to enter politics.

Political career

In 1978, Alias was elected to the

Parliament of Malaysia The Parliament of Malaysia ( ms, Parlimen Malaysia) is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives, lit. "People's Assembly") and the D ...

for the Hulu Terengganu constituency as a member of the

United Malays National Organisation The United Malays National Organisation ( Malay: ; Jawi: ; abbreviated UMNO () or less commonly PEKEMBAR), is a nationalist right-wing political party in Malaysia. As the oldest continuous national political party within Malaysia (since its ...

(UMNO). He defeated his opponent, Mohd Ghazali Ahmad of the

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

(PAS), by 4,370 votes. He was re-elected to Parliament from Hulu Terengganu in the next four general elections. He was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Primary Industries from 1987 to 1990. Alias declined to seek re-election in 1995 and retired from office.

Death

Alias died from colon cancer at his son's home in Prima Villa, Kemensah Heights, Ampang, on 10 March 2014, at the age of 75. He was survived by his wife, To' Puan Ramlah Datuk Abdul Rahman; two sons; three daughters; and fifteen grandchildren.

Election Results

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* : **

Companion 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 ...

(JSM) (1991) * : ** MY-TER Order of the Crown of Terengganu - Dato Paduka - DPMT

Knight Commander of the

Order of the Crown of Terengganu The Most Distinguished Order of the Crown of Terengganu (Bahasa Melayu: ''Darjah Kebesaran Mahkota Terengganu Yang Amat Mulia'') is an honorific order of the Sultanate of Terengganu. History It was founded by Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin of Tereng ...

(DPMT) - Dato' (1988)

Books

* ''Gersang'', (1964) * ''Krisis'', (1966) * ''Selasih Ku Sayang'', (1967) * ''Kalau Berpaut Di Dahan Rapuh'', (1967) * ''Adat Muda Menanggung Rindu'', (1971)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Alias 1930s births 2014 deaths People from Terengganu Malaysian people of Malay descent Malaysian Muslims Malaysian editors Malaysian journalists Members of the Dewan Rakyat United Malays National Organisation politicians Iowa State University alumni