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 ...

Datuk Seri Panglima 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 oldest ...

Abdul Kadir bin Sheikh Fadzir ( Jawi: عبدالقادر بن شيخ فاضل; born 4 June 1939) is 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 and former seven-term

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 ...

(MP) of

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

representing Kulim-Bandar Baharu constituency in the state of

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman (Islam), Aman and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area ...

. He also formerly served as the

Minister of Information An information minister (also called minister of information) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with information matters; it is often linked with censorship and propaganda. Sometimes the position is given to ...

(1999–2006), Minister of Culture, Arts and Tourism (1997–2004) in the

Cabinet of Malaysia The Cabinet of Malaysia ( Malay: ''Jemaah Menteri Malaysia'') is the executive branch of the Government of Malaysia. Led by the Prime Minister, the cabinet is a council of ministers who are accountable collectively to the Parliament. According ...

Early life and education

Attended Malay Tawar School (1946–1949), Sultan Badlishah Secondary School, Kulim (1950–1957). In 1968 he studied at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

, London majoring in law in 1970.

Early career

Abdul Kadir became a teacher at Serdang English School (1958), at Sekolah Kebangsaan Baling (1958–1960), a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

at the Public Works Department,

Alor Star Alor Setar ( Jawi: الور ستار, Kedahan: ''Loqstaq'') is the state capital of Kedah, Malaysia. It is the second-largest city in the state after Sungai Petani and one of the most-important cities on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. ...

(1960–1963). He then worked as a General Worker at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1963–1964), Third Secretary of Malaysian High Commissioner,

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

(1964–1965), Third Secretary at the Malaysian Embassy,

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

(1966–1968) and Political Secretary to General Welfare Minister (1971–1974) He became a lawyer in the law firm "Hisham, Sobri and Kadir" (1974–1982).

Political career

Abdul Kadir was involved in

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 in ...

(UMNO) since 1969. He was the President of UMNO Club, United Kingdom (1969–1970), Kedah UMNO Youth Vice-President (1970–1976), Padang Serai UMNO Deputy Head (1978), Kulim Bandar Baharu MP (1978–2004), Kulim Bandar Baharu Division UMNO (1984–1987). When UMNO was banned and declared illegal in the 1987 UMNO leadership crisis, Abdul Kadir was loyal to Dr

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 ...

to set up the '' UMNO Baru'' (New UMNO). He joined New UMNO as Member (1988) and was elected UMNO Supreme Council Member (1988). He became Member of the UMNO Supreme Council of the 2000–2003 session. At the UMNO General Assembly 2004 he was not elected in the list of 25 MKT. After winning the 1978 elections, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1982), Deputy Foreign Minister (1983), Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade (1990), Deputy Minister of Human Resources (1995) and Deputy Minister of Home Affairs (1999).

Minister of Culture, Arts and Tourism

The

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 ...

then, Dr Mahathir has appointed Abdul Kadir as the full minister of Culture, Arts and Tourism in 1999. He is also the Chairman of the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board (1999).

Minister of Information

In 2004, new Prime Minister,

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 ...

has appointed Abdul Kadir as Information Minister, replacing Datuk

Mohd Khalil Yaakob Tun Datuk Seri Utama Mohd Khalil bin Yaakob ( Jawi: محمد خليل بن يعقوب; born 29 December 1937) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 6th Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Malacca from June 2004 to June 2020, 12th Menteri Besar of ...

. On 1 April 2005, Radio 6 was re-branded as Minnal FM and inaugurated by Abdul Kadir as the Minister of Information. On 12 November, the 24-hour Kedah FM broadcast, a brainchild of Abdul Kadir was then launched by the Sultan of Kedah. Jia Yu's channel was officiated by Abdul Kadir as Information Minister on 17 November 2005. 70% of imported content from China and Hong Kong is controlled by Cosmos Discovery. Abdul Kadir has resigned as Information Minister on 14 February 2006. After his resignation in 2006 from cabinet, Datuk

Zainuddin Maidin Tan Sri Zainuddin bin Maidin ( Jawi: زين الدين بن ميدين; ‎26 June 1939 – 14 December 2018) was a Malaysian politician and the former Information Minister in the Malaysian cabinet representing United Malays National Org ...

became Information Minister.

Social and NGO activities

Abdul Kadir is a friendly, tested and active person in unity. Among them was the Secretary-General of the Afro-Asian People's Organization (Malaysia), Chairman of the Sultan Badlishah Secondary School Students Association, Federal Territory / Selangor Branch and Patron, Kulim District Orphanage Board of Orphanages. He was one of the leaders of

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 ...

(BN) veterans who had formed

Angkatan Amanah Merdeka Angkatan Amanah Merdeka ( Malay for "Independence Trust Forces", Abbr.: AMANAH) is a non-government organisation (NGO) founded by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah on 22 July 2011 at the Memorial Tunku Abdul Rahman in Kuala Lumpur. It is founded to repre ...

(Amanah) or Independence Trust Forces, a Malaysian

Non-Government Organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

(NGO), founded and launched by

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh bin Tengku Mohd Hamzah ( Jawi: تڠکو غزالي بن تڠکو محمد حمزة; born 13 April 1937) is a Malaysian politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gua Musang from August 1986 to November ...

on 22 July 2011. Abdul Kadir had become the deputy president of the NGO that was alleged to have political motive. As the Amanah is just an NGO, there are some demands for it to change to become a political party and join the opposition in the coming general election.

Exit from UMNO

On 19 March 2012, Abdul Kadir had made an announcement leaving the party of UMNO after being with the party for more than 56 years. According to Dr Raja Ahmad Al-Hiss, the deputy head 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) Youth Council vice-chairman, Abdul Kadir's action also gives a clear picture that there is something wrong with UMNO's struggle. In the same development, PAS described Abdul Kadir as a UMNO veteran to step out of the party as a blow to UMNO president

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 ...

himself. PAS vice-president,

Mahfuz Omar Mahfuz bin Omar ( Jawi: محفوظ بن عمر; born 25 August 1957) is a Malaysian politician who served as Deputy Minister of Human Resources in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration under former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and forme ...

said Abdul Kadir's action was to redeem the honor of the BN-led state. Mahfuz believes that Abdul Kadir's actions are a blow to Najib who recently said that the people should not try to impose the future of the country to support the opposition. Mahfuz had also congratulated Abdul Kadir on his decision to make the right decision, and said that the cardiac arrest was a 'signal' to the public to reject UMNO. "I congratulate him for his boldness and this is a decision for the future of our country. It is in line with what Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah once said that UMNO's defeat in the coming elections is good for the country."

Forming Parti Ikatan Bangsa Malaysia (IKATAN)

Abdul Kadir formed

Parti Ikatan Bangsa Malaysia The Parti Ikatan Bangsa Malaysia ( en, Malaysia National Alliance Party; often known by its acronym: IKATAN) is a political party in Malaysia formed on 7 June 2012 by the former United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) cabinet minister and ve ...

(IKATAN) or on 7 June 2012 along with a few former UMNO members. After the IKATAN was forced to wait for more than two years for approval, Abdul Kadir dragged the Registrar of Societies (RoS) to High Court in February 2013 for them to approve the party. The party was approved on 15 May 2015 with Abdul Kadir as the first president. IKATAN and

(PAS) later formed an informal ''Third Force'' political alliances on 16 March 2016, which was called

Gagasan Sejahtera The Gagasan Sejahtera (English: ''Ideas of Prosperity'', abbrev: GS) was a coalition of opposition Islamist political parties which promote the "ideas of peace" in Malaysia. The informal electoral pact was formed initially on 16 March 2016 by ...

(GS) on 13 August 2016.

In popular culture

In 2004, Abdul Kadir had become an 'extra actor' in Mahligai Gading drama, in which Datuk Dr.

Maximus Ongkili Datuk Seri Panglima Dr. Maximus Johnity Ongkili (born 26 October 1953) is a Malaysian politician who has served as Chairman of the Energy Commission of Sabah (ECOS) since February 2023. He served as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department f ...

and Datuk Seri

Shahrizat Abdul Jalil Shahrizat binti Abdul Jalil ( Jawi: شهرزاد بنت عبدالجليل; born 15 August 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served in the Cabinet of Malaysia as Minister of Women, Family and Community Development from 2009 to 2012. She was th ...

also acts.

Personal life

Abdul Kadir married Suraya Mohd Noah and the couple has a twin sons; Erman Abdul Kadir and Erwan Abdul Kadir. Abdul Kadir's family got a place in UMNO politics especially in Kedah. Beside Abdul Kadir himself was cabinet Minister. His younger brother, Dato'

Abd. Aziz Sheikh Fadzir Dato' Abd. Aziz bin Sheikh Fadzir (born 28 April 1963) is a Malaysian politician. He was the Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the seat of Kulim–Bandar Baharu in the state of Kedah for one term from 2013 to 2018, representing the Uni ...

is the former

Kuala Ketil Kuala Ketil is a small town in Baling District, Kedah, Malaysia. Kuala Ketil is also known as Kuala Ansotil by locals and residents around the town. Kuala Ketil is situated within the parliamentary constituency of Baling, in south-eastern Kedah. ...

seat assemblyman and then former MP for Kulim–Bandar Baharu succeeding Abdul Kadir. He was an UMNO Youth leader. His brothers, Datuk Haidar Ali Sheikh Fadzir became Federal Territory UMNO Youth chief but died of a bacterial infection in the liver and lungs while Datuk Musa Sheikh Fadzir became the leader of

Bukit Mertajam Bukit Mertajam ( Jawi:بوكيت مرتاجم) is the administrative centre of the city of Seberang Perai in Penang, Malaysia. It also serves as the seat of the Central Seberang Perai District. , Bukit Mertajam (core) contains a total of 13, ...

UMNO and was appointed

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Election results

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* : ** Member of the

Order of the Defender of the Realm The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace o ...

(AMN) (1992) **

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 (2007) * : ** Knight Commander of the Order of Loyalty to Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah (DHMS) – Dato' Paduka ** Knight Companion of the

Order of Loyalty to the Royal House of Kedah The Illustrious Order of Loyalty to the Royal House of Kedah (Bahasa Melayu: ''Darjah Yang Mulia Setia di-Raja'') is an honorific order of the Sultanate of Kedah History It was founded by Sultan Abdul Halim of Kedah on 21 September 1973. Cl ...

(DSDK) – Dato' (1986) * : ** My-KEL Order of the Life of the Crown of Kelantan 1925-2006

Knight Grand Commander of the

Order of the Life of the Crown of Kelantan Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

(SJMK) – Dato' (2003) * : ** MY-MAL Exalted Order of Malacca

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 w ...

(DGSM) – Datuk Seri (2004) * : ** MY-PAH Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang - Grand Knight - SSAP

Grand Knight of the

Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang The Most Illustrious Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang (Malay: ''Darjah Kebesaran Sultan Ahmad Shah Pahang Yang Amat Di Mulia'') is a knighthood order of the Sultanate of Pahang. History The order was founded by Sultan Ahmad Shah on 24 Oc ...

(SSAP) – Dato' Sri (2004) * : ** MY-SAB Order of Kinabalu - PGDK

Commander of the

Order of Kinabalu The Illustrious Order of Kinabalu (Malay: ''Darjah Yang Amat Mulia Kinabalu'') is the only order conferred by the Governor of Sabah, Malaysia. Background The Illustrious Order of Kinabalu is established by virtue of Section 3(a) of State Honou ...

(PGDK) – Datuk (1995) ** MY-SAB Order of Kinabalu - SPDK