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 ...

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 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. Accordi ...

representing

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) in the

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 ...

(BN) coalition government. He was the member of 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 Merbok constituency for one term, from 24 March 2004 to 8 March 2008. In 2018, he quits UMNO and be part of

Pakatan Harapan The Alliance of Hope ( ms, Pakatan Harapan; abbrev: PH; stylized as HARAPAN) is a Malaysian political coalition consisting of centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has been the ...

(PH) coalition government. He is also the former Chief Editor of

Utusan Melayu ''Utusan Malaysia'' ( Jawi: اوتوسن مليسيا; English: ''The Malaysian Tribune'' or simply ''Utusan'') is a Malaysian Malay-language daily newspaper. Formerly owned by the Utusan Group, the newspaper is currently owned by Media Mulia. D ...

-turned-fierce critic, the oldest

Malay language Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi: , Rencong: ) is an Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spoken in East Timor and parts of the Philippines an ...

newspaper in Malaysia.

Early life

Zainuddin bin Maidin, was born in Kota Kuala Muda,

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman and historically as Queda, is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km2, and it consists of the mainland ...

, to a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

family of mixed Malay and Indian descent. He received his early education in Maktab Mahmud,

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. ...

. He later obtained his diploma in journalism from the Berlin Journalism Institute in 1969. In 1981, he was awarded with the Professional Journalist Fellowship from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, US. Zainuddin is married to Datin Zaiton Zainol Abidin and is a father to two daughters and two sons.

Career

Authorship

He wrote a few books, and among the most notable ones are ''Yang Pertama dan Terakhir'', ''Malaysia-British Relations in London'', ''Mahathir Di Sebalik Tabir'', and ''Tun Razak: Jejak Bertapak Seorang Patriot''.

Politics

Zainuddin was appointed as a member of the

Dewan Negara The Dewan Negara (English: Senate; lit. "State Council") is the upper house of the Parliament of Malaysia, consisting of 70 senators of whom 26 are elected by the state legislative assemblies, with two senators for each state, while the oth ...

in 1998, before being named the Parliamentary Secretary of the Information Ministry on 17 January 2001. He was sworn as a member of the

for a second term in February 2001 and was appointed Deputy Information Minister on 21 November 2002. Later, he won the Merbok Parliamentary seat in the

2004 Malaysian general election A general election was held on Sunday, 21 March 2004 for members of the 11th Parliament of Malaysia. Voting took place in all 219 parliamentary constituencies of Malaysia, each electing one Member of Parliament to the Dewan Rakyat, the dominan ...

s by beating a

Parti Keadilan Rakyat The People's Justice Party ( ms, Parti Keadilan Rakyat , often known simply as KEADILAN or PKR) is a reformist political party in Malaysia, formed in 2003 by a merger of the National Justice Party and the older Malaysian People's Party. Th ...

(PKR) candidate, Saiful Izham Ramli with a 15,445 majority. On 14 February 2006, he was made the Information Minister by then Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, replacing Datuk Paduka Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir. In the

2008 Malaysian general election A general election was held on Saturday, 8 March 2008 for members of the 12th Parliament of Malaysia. Voting took place in all 222 parliamentary constituencies of Malaysia, each electing one Member of Parliament to the Dewan Rakyat, the dominan ...

s on 8 March 2008, he contested the

Sungai Petani Sungai Petani (abbr. Sg. Petani or SP; Jawi: سوڠاي ڤتاني) is a city in Kuala Muda District, Kedah, Malaysia. Sungai Petani is Kedah's largest city and is located about 55 km south of Alor Setar, the capital of Kedah, and 33& ...

parliamentary seat but was defeated by Datuk Johari Abdul from PKR.

Controversy

In 2006, the opposition

Democratic Action Party The Democratic Action Party (abbreviation: DAP; ms, Parti Tindakan Demokratik; ; ta, ஜனநாயக செயல் கட்சி) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Malaysia. As one of four component parties of the ...

(DAP), which had been a vocal opponent of the Sedition Act and the

Internal Security Act Internal Security Act may refer to: *Internal Security Act 1960, former Malaysian law *Internal Security Act (Singapore) *McCarran Internal Security Act, a United States federal law *Suppression of Communism Act, 1950, a South African law, renamed ...

(ISA), filed a police report against UMNO, whose annual general assembly had been noted for its heated rhetoric, with delegates making statements such as "Umno is willing to risk lives and bathe in blood to defend the race and religion. Don't play with fire. If they (non-Malays) messed with our rights, we will mess with theirs." In response, the Information Minister said that this indicated that the Sedition Act continued to remain relevant to Malaysian society. He also denied that the government intentionally used the act to silence dissent or to advance particular political interests. He gained notoriety in Malaysian politics for demonstrating a poor command of the English language during a telephone interview with

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazee ...

on the first

Bersih The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections ( ms, Gabungan Pilihanraya Bersih dan Adil) or Bersih (meaning ''clean'' in Malay) is a coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) which seeks to reform the current electoral system in Malaysia t ...

rally in 2007. In December 2012 Zainuddin caused a minor diplomatic incident with

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

after writing an article highly critical of former President B J Habibie, which was published by ''

Utusan Malaysia ''Utusan Malaysia'' ( Jawi: اوتوسن مليسيا; English: ''The Malaysian Tribune'' or simply ''Utusan'') is a Malaysian Malay-language daily newspaper. Formerly owned by the Utusan Group, the newspaper is currently owned by Media Mulia. ...

''. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono conveyed his discomfort with the article to Malaysian Prime Minister

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 Malay ...

. In August 2013, Zainuddin was forced to apologise after

AirAsia Capital A Berhad, () operating as AirAsia (stylized as ''airasia'') is a Malaysian multinational low-cost airline headquartered near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the largest airline in Malaysia by fleet size and destinations. AirAsia operat ...

sent a letter of demand in response to a libellous article in his blog, in which he alleged that the prominent low-cost carrier served pork on its flights (pork is taboo food in Muslim-majority Malaysia). AirAsia had called for Zainuddin to post an apology for six months in the said blog, but Zainuddin stated that the apology would be published indefinitely. In July 2018, Zainuddin who by this time was pro-

, leaning towards

DAP DAP or Dap may refer to: Science * DAP (gene), human gene that encodes death-associated proteins, which mediate programmed cell death * Diamidophosphate, phosphorylating compound * Diaminopimelic acid, amino acid derivative of lysine * Diaminop ...

and PKR, and fierce critic 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

, urged PH's Minister Mujahid Yusof Rawa to closed down all Tahfiz school in Malaysia, ban Arab culture, Arabic and Jawi calligraphies, scripts and sayings. This caused uproar in Malaysia from UMNO, PAS politicians and all Muslim NGOs.

Election results

Awards and recognition

* : ** Companion 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 ...

(JMN) (1990) ** Commander of the

Order of Meritorious Service The Distinguished Order of Meritorious Service ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Jasa Negara) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. It should not be confused with the Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: ...

(PJN) – Datuk (1996) **

Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM) – Tan Sri (2009) * : ** MY-PAH_Order_of_the_Crown_of_Pahang_-_Member_-_AMP

Member of the

Order of the Crown of Pahang The Esteemed Order of the Crown of Pahang ( Malay: '' Darjah Kebesaran Mahkota Pahang Yang Amat Mulia'') is a knighthood order of the Sultanate of Pahang. History The order was founded by Sultan Abu Bakar on 27 December 1968. It is awarded ...

(AMP) (1982) * : ** MY-KED_Exalted_Order_of_the_Crown_of_Kedah_-_Member_(AMK)

Member of the

Exalted Order of the Crown of Kedah The Exalted Order of the Crown of Kedah (Bahasa Melayu: ''Darjah Yang Maha Mulia Sri Mahkota Kedah'') is an honorific order of the Kedah Sultanate, Sultanate of Kedah History It was founded by Sultan Abdul Halim of Kedah on 21 February 1964. ...

(AMK) (1987) ** Knight Commander of the

(DPMK) – Dato' (2006) * : ** MY-SEL_Order_of_the_Crown_of_Selangor_-_SMS_-_AMS

Companion of the

Order of the Crown of Selangor The Most Illustrious Order of the Crown of Selangor (Bahasa Melayu: ''Darjah Kebesaran Mahkota Selangor Yang Amat Mulia'') is an order awarded by Sultan of Selangor as a reward for general services to the sultan and state of Selangor. It was foun ...

(SMS) (1990) ** MY-SEL_Order_of_the_Crown_of_Selangor_-_Knight_Commander_-_DPMS

Knight Commander of the

(DPMS) – 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 (2006)

Death

Zainuddin died of

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possi ...

(heart attack) on 14 December 2018 (Friday) at 6.20 pm at the

Serdang Hospital Sultan Idris Shah Serdang Hospital, previously known as the Serdang Hospital, is a government-funded multi-specialty hospital located in Sepang District, Selangor, Malaysia. The location of the hospital borders the South Klang Valley Expresswa ...

at age 79. His remains was brought to his residence at Precinct 10 in Putrajaya before funeral prayers at Surau At Tarbiah in Taman Melawati and then burial at Kampung Klang Gates/Taman Melawati Muslim Cemetery in Hulu Klang, Kuala Lumpur the next morning. His funeral was attended by hundreds of family members, relatives, friends and prominent figures including Prime Minister

Mahathir Mohamed 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 ...

References

External links

, 15 February 2006 * http://pmr.penerangan.gov.my/custom.cfm?name=lihatbiodatadetail.cfm&id=53 {{DEFAULTSORT:Zainuddin Maidin 1939 births 2018 deaths People from Kedah Malaysian people of Malay descent Malaysian people of Indian descent Malaysian Muslims Malaysian journalists Malaysian United Indigenous Party politicians United Malays National Organisation politicians Members of the Dewan Negara Members of the Dewan Rakyat Information ministers of Malaysia University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni Companions of the Order of the Defender of the Realm Commanders of the Order of Meritorious Service Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia Knights Commander of the Order of the Crown of Selangor