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 ...

Yahaya bin Ahmad (11 August 1947 – 2 March 1997) was the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of the DRB-HICOM Group 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 ...

. He was famously known as Malaysia's "Car

Czar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the t ...

Biography

Yahaya Ahmad was born on 11 August 1947 in Marang,

Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', Jawi: ), formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu, is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l- Īmān'' ("Abode of Faith"). ...

. He received his education from

Malay College Kuala Kangsar The Malay College Kuala Kangsar (abbreviated MCKK; ; ) is a premier boarding school, residential school in Malaysia. It is an elite all-boys and all-Malay people, Malay school in the royal town of Kuala Kangsar, Perak. It is sometimes dubbed "the ...

Kuala Kangsar The Kuala Kangsar (Perak Malay: ''Kole Kangso'') is the royal town of Perak, Malaysia. It is located at the downstream of Kangsar River where it joins the Perak River, approximately northwest of Ipoh, Perak's capital, and southeast of ...

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...

. Tan Sri Yahaya Ahmad was married with Puan Sri Rohana Othman on 17 January 1979 and have four children. They lived in

Kelana Jaya Kelana Jaya is a suburb of Petaling Jaya city, in the state of Selangor, Malaysia, comprising sections SS3, SS4, SS5, SS6, and SS7. The Damansara–Puchong Expressway cuts through this neighbourhood. The shopping mall Paradigm Mall is located here ...

Petaling Jaya ) , website = , image_skyline = , image_caption = ''From top, left to right:Skyline of Petaling Jaya, the 1 Utama Mall integrated with Bandar Utama Station, the Kota Darul Ehsan arch, the Petaling J ...

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 ...

DRB HICOM Chairman

Yahaya Ahmad dabbled in the automobile world in 1985 during the launch of Malaysia's national car

Proton Saga The Proton Saga is a series of compact and subcompact cars produced by Malaysian automobile manufacturer Proton. Introduced in 1985, the Proton Saga became the first Malaysian car and a major milestone in the Malaysian automotive industry. The ...

by then Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He was appointed as chairman of the DRB-HICOM on 1 January 1994. Through the company, Yahaya Ahmad managed to capture the national carmaker

Proton A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' elementary charge. Its mass is slightly less than that of a neutron and 1,836 times the mass of an electron (the proton–electron mass ...

. In the 1990s the Proton Iswara and

Proton Wira The Proton Wira (Malay, "hero") is a car manufactured by Malaysian carmaker Proton from 1993 to 2009. It was produced in four-door saloon and five-door hatchback models, and is based on the Mitsubishi Lancer platform. History Development of ...

was launched. In April 1996, Proton Tiara was launched. Subsequently, in October 1996, Proton through Yahaya Ahmad has taken control of the Lotus. Then taken over by the Managing Director Datuk Seri Mohd Nadzmi Salleh with Tengku Tan Sri Mahaleel Tengku Ariff. In 1997, the Finance Minister

Anwar Ibrahim Anwar bin Ibrahim ( ms, انور بن ابراهيم, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset, IPA: ; born 10 August 1947) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia since November 2022. He served as the 12 ...

as the acting Prime Minister of Malaysia together with Tan Sri Yahaya Ahmad, together solve traffic congestion around the city of

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

through the establishment of Intrakota bus (now

RapidKL buses Rapid Bus Sdn Bhd is the largest bus operator in Malaysia operating mainly in urban areas of Klang Valley, Penang & Kuantan. As of August 2022, Rapid KL service brands unit of Rapid Bus, has operates 112 normal routes and also 69 MRT Feede ...

) that providing special access to public transport.

Helicopter crash

On 2 March 1997, Yahaya Ahmad and his wife Rohana Othman were killed in a helicopter crash near

Kuala Lipis Kuala Lipis ( ms, كوالا ليڤيس, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is a mukim and capital of Lipis District, Pahang, Malaysia with a population of 20,000. History Kuala Lipis was a gold-mining centre before the British arrived in 1 ...

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 ...

while on their way to visit his ailing mother, Mandak Omar in

Marang, Terengganu Marang (est. pop. (2000 census): 4,896) is a town and the seat of Marang District, in the state of Terengganu, Malaysia. The town is located on the South China Sea coast on the main highway between Kuala Terengganu and Kuantan. The main economic a ...

. After a mid-air explosion, the six-seater Agusta A109P helicopter plunged 2,900m into rubber trees just metres away from houses in Kampung Along, Jerangsang, about 40 km southwest of

. The pilot Major (R) Azlizan Abdul Manas from

Batu Pahat The Batu Pahat District is a district in the state of Johor, Malaysia. It lies southeast of Muar, southwest of Kluang, northwest of Pontian, south of Segamat and Tangkak District. The capital of the district is Bandar Penggaram. Geography ...

Johor Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan ...

was also killed. The helicopter, belong to Gadek Aviation Helicopter Sdn Bhd, one of DRB-HICOM's companies, was believed to have had engine trouble about 30 minutes after it took off from the

Segambut Segambut is a sub-district and a parliamentary constituency in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. From the high-end condominiums of Mont Kiara and Sri Hartamas to the middle-class areas of Taman Sri Segambut and Bandar Manjalara, and the rural areas ...

helipad in Kuala Lumpur. On 4 March 1997, the bodies of Yahaya Ahmad and Rohana Othman were brought back to his hometown in

and were buried in a Muslim cemetery in Marang. After Yahaya's death, the company was taken over by Tan Sri Mohd Saleh Sulong.

Honour

Honour of Malaysia

* : 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 ...

(P.S.M.) (1996)

Legacy

In honour of his contributions to the Malaysian automotive industry. On 15 July 1997, the training centre Institut Kemahiran Mara Pekan (IKM Pekan) in

Pekan Pekan Town is a town in Pekan District, Pahang, Malaysia. It is also the royal capital of the state. Its name comes from a flower, the '' Bunga Pekan''. Pekan is also the name of the district the town is situated in, and a parliamentary const ...

was renamed Institut Kemahiran Mara Tan Sri Yahaya Ahmad Pekan (IKM TSYA Pekan). There is a street in

Dungun Dungun is a coastal district of the Malaysian state of Terengganu. Kuala Dungun is the capital of the district. Dungun is made up of eleven 'mukim', or subdistricts: Abang, Besol, Jengai, Jerangau, Kuala Dungun, Kuala Paka, Kumpal, Pasir Raja, Ras ...

was named after him Jalan Yahaya Ahmad.

References

{{Authority control 1947 births 1997 deaths Malaysian people of Malay descent 20th-century Malaysian businesspeople Malaysian Muslims Victims of helicopter accidents or incidents Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Malaysia Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia