Mohamed Noah bin Omar ( Jawi: محمد نوح بن عمر‎; 13 August 1897 – 6 September 1991) 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. He was one of the leading figures who founded 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 in ...

(UMNO) and became the first

Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat The Speaker of the House of Representatives ( ms, Yang di-Pertua Dewan Rakyat) is the highest-ranking presiding officer of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia. He is responsible for convening sessions of the Dewan Raky ...

Early life

Noah Omar was born in

Bandar Maharani Muar ( Jawi: موار) or Bandar Maharani, is a historical town and the capital of Muar District, Johor, Malaysia. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Malaysia to be visited and explored for its food, coffee and historical ...

, Muar, Johor on 13 August 1897. He is a descendant of the 17th century

Bugis The Bugis people (pronounced ), also known as Buginese, are an ethnicity—the most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi (the others being Makassar and Toraja), in the south-western province of Sulawe ...

Raja Chempa. His ancestors were the aristocratic Orang Kaya of Muar. He attended the

Syrian Protestant College The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a Private University, private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York (state), New York with its campus in Beirut, Leban ...

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, after which he acquired the nickname "Noah Beirut". After returning, he worked as a lorry driver and clerk before joining the Johor civil service. Noah married twice in a polygamous manner, firstly to Maimun Abdul Manaf (1903–1968) in 1921 until her death and then to Siti Amirah Kusuma (1916–2014). His children from his first marriage are Rahah, the widow of

Tun Abdul Razak Tun Haji Abdul Razak bin Dato' Hussein ( ms, عبد الرزاق بن حسين, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 11 March 1922 – 14 January 1976) was a Malaysian lawyer and politician who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of Malaysia f ...

, who was 2nd

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 ...

from 1970 to 1976, Suhaila, the widow of

Tun Hussein Onn Tun Hussein bin Dato' Onn ( ms, حسين بن عون, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 12 February 1922 – 29 May 1990) was a Malaysian lawyer and politician who served as the 3rd Prime Minister of Malaysia from the death of his predece ...

, who was 3rd Prime Minister from 1976 to 1981, and Fakhriah who married Abdullah Ahmad, a member of the Johor royal court. Their grandsons,

Najib Abdul 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 ...

became the 6th Prime Minister, while

Hishamuddin Hussein Hishammuddin bin Hussein ( Jawi: هشام الدين بن حسين; born 5 August 1961) is a Malaysian politician and lawyer who served as Senior Minister of the Security Cluster and Minister of Defence from 2021 to 2022. A member of the Unite ...

became a cabinet minister of different portfolios and is one of the leading

UMNO 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 ...

leaders since the 1990s. Noah and Siti Amirah had an elder child, Nabiha, who died at a young age. Noah had only one son, Abu Rais, who died at his early age of 40. Siti Amirah Kusuma died on 17 July 2014 in

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian forces on 17 July 2014, while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. Cont ...

(MH17) tragedy at Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine.

Career

Politics

Noah was very active in the Malayan nationalist movement along with his contemporaries,

Onn Jaafar {{Table Oghamletters Onn is the Irish name of the seventeenth letter of the Ogham alphabet, ᚑ, meaning "ash-tree", which is related to Welsh ''onn(en)'', from the root was *''ōs-, *osen'' 'ash'. Its phonetic value is The letter's Bríatharog ...

, Haji Anwar bin Abdul Malik and Haji Syed Alwi bin Syed Sheikh al-Hadi. Together they founded

on 1 May 1946 as a means to rally the Malays against the

Malayan Union The Malayan Union was a union of the Malay states and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca. It was the successor to British Malaya and was conceived to unify the Malay Peninsula under a single government to simplify administratio ...

, which was perceived as threatening Malay privileges and the position of the Malay rulers. After

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

, he became the first

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the

Dewan Rakyat The Dewan Rakyat (English: 'House of Representatives'; ) is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament, the federal legislature of Malaysia. The chamber and its powers are established by Article 44 of the Constitution of Malaysia. The Dewan Ra ...

, the lower house of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

between 1959 and 1964. Subsequently, he was

President of the Dewan Negara The President of the Senate ( ms, Yang di-Pertua Dewan Negara) is the presiding officer or speaker of the Dewan Negara, the upper house of the Parliament of Malaysia. The President of the Senate is created under Article 56 of the Constitution o ...

, the upper house, from 1968 to 1970.

Business

Noah together with Tan Sri

Lim Goh Tong Lim Goh Tong (; 28 February 1918 – 23 October 2007) was a prominent wealthy Malaysian Chinese businessman & entrepreneur. He was renowned for his transforming Genting Highlands from an unexplored hilltop into one of the world's most successf ...

formed a private company called Genting Highlands Berhad (now Genting Group), which was set up on 27 April 1965 to construct

Genting Highlands Genting Highlands is a hill station located on the peak of Mount Ulu Kali in the Titiwangsa Mountains, central Peninsular Malaysia, at 1,800 metres elevation. Located in the state of Pahang. It was established in 1965 by the late Chinese busines ...

. Tan Sri Lim successfully obtained approval for the alienation of and of land from the

Pahang Pahang (;Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a ...

and

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...

state governments respectively between the years 1965 and 1970. Its primary hill resort, Resort World Genting is currently Malaysia's only casino and highland resort. A

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

built at the hill station is named after him. In 1970, Noah was appointed a director of

MUI Group Malayan United Industries Berhad (MUI; ) was founded in 1960, and owned by Khoo Kay Peng. The main businesses of the group includes retailing, hotels, food and confectionery, financial services, property, travel and tourism. The group has business ...

. He was appointed Chairman of the Group in 1980.

Death

Noah died on 6 September 1991 in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

, at the age of 94. He was buried at

Makam Pahlawan The Makam Pahlawan (Malay for Heroes' Mausoleum) is the burial ground of several Malaysian leaders and politicians. It is located near the Malaysian national mosque, Masjid Negara in the national capital, Kuala Lumpur. Construction of the mauso ...

near

Masjid Negara The National Mosque of Malaysia ( ms, Masjid Negara Malaysia) is a mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It has a capacity for 15,000 people and is situated among of gardens. Its key features are a minaret and a 16-pointed star concrete main ...

, Kuala Lumpur.

Honours

* : ** Commander 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 ...

(PMN) – Tan Sri (1963) * : **

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

Second Class of the Sultan Ibrahim Medal (PIS II) (1947) ** Most_Honourable_Order_of_the_Crown_of_Johor_-_ribbon_bar

Knight Commander

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 Com ...

(DPMJ) – Dato' (1955) ** Most_Honourable_Order_of_the_Crown_of_Johor_-_ribbon_bar

Knight Grand Commander

(SPMJ) – Dato' (1960) ** 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)

Foreign honours

* : **

Second Class of the

Order of Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei The Most Honourable Order of Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei ( ms, Darjah Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei Yang Amat Mulia), also translated as The Most Honourable Order of the Crown of Brunei, is an order of Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei D ...

(DPMB) – Dato Paduka (1960)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Omar, Mohamad Noah 1898 births 1991 deaths People from Muar People from Johor Malaysian people of Bugis descent Malaysian people of Malay descent Malaysian Muslims Speakers of the Dewan Rakyat Presidents of the Dewan Negara Members of the Dewan Rakyat Members of the Dewan Negara Members of the Johor State Legislative Assembly United Malays National Organisation politicians Commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm Knights Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor