Senu bin Abdul Rahman ( ms, سنو بن عبدالرحمن, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 10 October 1919 – 16 June 1995) was a

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 ...

n politician and former federal minister and diplomat.

Early life, education and early career

Born in

Jitra Jitra ( zh, 日得拉) is a town and a mukim in Kubang Pasu District, in northern Kedah, Malaysia. It is the fourth-largest town in Kedah after Alor Setar, Sungai Petani and Kulim. History During World War II, when the Japanese attacked Mala ...

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 ...

, Senu was trained as a teacher at the

Sultan Idris Education University Sultan Idris Education University ( ms, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris; commonly abbreviated as UPSI; Jawi: اونيۏرسيتي ڤنديديقن سلطان إدريس) is a public university in the town of Tanjung Malim, Perak in Malaysia ...

in southern Perak. After graduating, he taught at Sekolah Sungai Korok Tinggi in Alor Setar from 1939 to 1941. When Kedah state was placed under Siamese rule during the Japanese occupation, he was an officer at the Alor Setar Education Department (1942-1943). He also worked as an illustrator and producer at the Japanese Information Department. In 1943, together with Ahmad Nordin, Mohd Jamil, Mohamed Khir Johari and Wan Din, he formed the Syarikat Bekerjasama Am Saiburi (SABERKAS) with the objectives of improving social and economic welfare for

Kedahan Malays Kedahan Malays ( Malay: ''Melayu Kedah'', Jawi: ملايو ﻗﺪﺡ) or commonly known as Orang Utara ('Northerners'), is a sub-group of Malays who are native to northern Malaysia (in the states Kedah, Penang and Perlis as well northernmost p ...

and served as its secretary general (1945-1947).

Political career

After the war, he was determined to further his studies abroad. He signed up as a sailor and set off on a ship to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 1948 without his family knowledge. He worked as a dishwasher, waiter and cook to finance his high school diploma and degree at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

(UCLA). He graduated in 1954 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Prior to the 1957 independence, Senu was the secretary general of

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 ...

and joint secretary of 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 ...

party. He worked with the Indonesian embassy at the United Nations the same year he was appointed Malaysian ambassador to Indonesia and served as ambassador from 1957 to 1962. He 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, Literal translation, lit. "People's A ...

as member of Kubang Pasu Barat in the 1964 election and became Malaysia's first Minister for Information and Broadcasting then Minister for Culture, Youth and Sports (1964-1969) before losing his seat in the 1969 election. He re-entered Parliament in 1972 as the member for the seat of

Kuala Kedah Kuala Kedah is a mukim and parliamentary constituency in Kota Setar District, Kedah, Malaysia. It is a fishing port, located at the mouth of the Kedah River, and serves as a terminus for ferries to the tourist island of Langkawi. It is home to a ...

Langkawi but resigned after the 1978 election.

Personal life

Senu was married to Puan Sri Fatimah Abdullah and have seven children. He died in 1995, at the age of 75.

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* : **

Recipient of the Malaysian Commemorative Medal (Gold) (PPM) (1965) ** 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 (1988) * : ** My-KEL_Order_of_the_Life_of_the_Crown_of_Kelantan_1925-2006

Knight 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 ...

(DJMK) – Dato' (1986) * : ** 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 (1973)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdul Rahman, Senu 1919 births 1995 deaths Malaysian Muslims Malaysian people of Malay descent United Malays National Organisation politicians Members of the Dewan Rakyat Government ministers of Malaysia Commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm Ambassadors of Malaysia to Indonesia Ambassadors of Malaysia to Germany Commanders of the Order of Kinabalu