Wan Mokhtar Ahmad

Wan Mokhtar Wan Ahmad
وان مختار وان أحمد
10th Menteri Besar of Terengganu
In office
1 September 1974 – 2 December 1999
Monarchs Ismail Nasiruddin
Mahmud
Mizan Zainal Abidin
Preceded by Nik Hassan Wan Abdul Rahman (UMNO)
Succeeded by Abdul Hadi Awang (PAS)
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Kemaman
In office
25 April 1964 – 23 August 1974
Preceded by Wan Yahya Wan Mohamed
Succeeded by Wan Abdul Kadir Ismail
Member of the Terengganu State Legislative Assembly
for Cukai
In office
24 August 1974 – 29 November 1999
Malaysian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
In office
23 November 2000 – 1 June 2005
Monarch Sirajuddin
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad
(2000–03)
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (2003–05)
Preceded by Shapi Abu Samah
Succeeded by Ismail Ibrahim
Personal details
Born
Wan Mokhtar bin Wan Ahmad

21 March 1932
Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Unfederated Malay States, British Malaya (now Malaysia)
Died 21 September 2020 (aged 88)
Prince Court Medical Centre, Ampang, Kuala Lumpur
Resting place Section 21 Muslim Cemetery, Shah Alam, Selangor
Political party United Malays National Organisation (UMNO)
Other political
affiliations
Alliance Party
Barisan Nasional (BN)
Spouse
Aishahtun Mohd Fadlullah Suhaimi
(died 2018)
Children 5
Alma mater Al-Azhar University

Wan Mokhtar bin Wan Ahmad (21 March 1932 – 21 September 2020) was a Malaysian politician who served as the 11th Menteri Besar of Terengganu. In office for 25 years, he was the longest-serving head of the Terengganu state government (1974 - 1999). He also served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Kemaman (1964 - 1974) and Member of the Terengganu State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Cukai (1974 - 1999).

Wan Mokhtar was a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) in the then-ruling Alliance and Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. He was an ally of the similarly longest-serving Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. In 1987, he was elected the vice-president of UMNO, alongside Anwar Ibrahim, under Mahathir's running team.

His political prominence in the state came to an end in the 1999 state election, when the then-opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) ousted the Barisan Nasional (BN) state government with a landslide victory. He also lost his Chukai state seat then. He was then appointed as the Malaysian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 2000 to 2005.

Personal life

Wan Mokhtar was married to Aishahtun Mohd Fadlullah Suhaimi (1937–2018) and the couple had five children. One of his sons, Wan Abdul Hakim was elected in the 2013 state election and to be the MLA of the Air Putih state assembly constituency for one term from 2013 to 2018 before defeated in the next state election.

Death

On 21 September 2020, Wan Mokhtar died at 6:20 a.m. at Prince Court Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur due to heart complications. He was 88 years old and is survived by his 5 children. He was laid to rest at the Section 21 Muslim Cemetery in Shah Alam, Selangor.

Election results

Parliament of Malaysia
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
1964 P029 Kemaman, Terengganu Wan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO) 10,153 64.20% Wan Hamid Wan Ibrahim (SF) 3,072 19.43% 16,556 7,081 75.21%
Syed Noh Alwee (PMIP) 2,589 16.37%
1969 Wan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO) 9,428 52.49% Wan Yahya Wan Mohamed (PMIP) 8,534 47.51% 18,872 894 70.02%
Terengganu State Legislative Assembly
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
1974 N28 Chukai Wan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO)
1978 Wan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO)
1982 Wan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO)
1986 N31 Cukai Wan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO) 5,562 67.13% Awang Dagang Yusof (PAS) 2,566 30.97% 8,650 2,996 72.17%
Zainal Abidin Mustaffa (SDP) 158 1.91%
1990 Wan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO) 6,206 58.39% Alias Abdul Rahman (S46) 4,422 41.60% 10,962 1,784 77.70%
1995 Wan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO)
1999 Wan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO) Awang Jusoh (PAS)

Honours

Honours of Malaysia