Fadzil Noor

Fadzil Muhammad Noor
فاضل محمد نور
7th Leader of the Opposition
In office
29 November 1999 – 23 June 2002
MonarchsJaafar
Salahuddin
Sirajuddin
Prime MinisterMahathir Mohamad
Preceded byLim Kit Siang
Succeeded byAbdul Hadi Awang
6th President of the Malaysian Islamic Party
In office
1989 – 23 June 2002
Preceded byYusof Rawa
Succeeded byAbdul Hadi Awang
Personal details
Born
Fadzil bin Muhammad Noor

(1937-03-15)15 March 1937
Kampung Seberang Pumpung, Alor Setar, Kedah
Died23 June 2002(2002-06-23) (aged 65)
Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur
Political partyPan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS)
Other political
affiliations
Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah (APU)
(1990-1996)
Barisan Alternatif (BA)
(1999-2002)
SpouseSiti Khadijah Ibrahim
Children8 (5 sons & 3 daughters) including Muhammad Faiz Fadzil
Parent(s)Mohd Noor Abdul Hamid (father; deceased)
Hindun Abdul Rahman (mother; deceased)
Alma materAl-Azhar University
ProfessionReligious teacher

Dato' Ustaz Haji Fadzil bin Muhammad Noor[1] (Jawi: فاضل بن محمد نور; 15 March 1937 – 23 June 2002) was a Malaysian politician and religious teacher. He was the president of Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) from 1989 to 2002 and Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Malaysia from 1999 to 2002.

Fadzil became the Deputy President of PAS in 1982, when Yusof Rawa ascended to the party's presidency. The election of Yusof and Fadzil marked a victory for the party's conservative ulama faction. Both men wanted PAS to advocate for an Islamic state in Malaysia modelled on the one that had arisen in Iran following the 1979 revolution there.[2]

When Yusof resigned for health reasons in 1989, Fadzil became PAS's President. He set PAS on a more moderate path, diverting from the hardline Islamism of Yusof's presidency. This involved reorienting the party's platform away from the propagation of religious doctrine towards a greater focus on social and economic issues such as poverty alleviation.[3] This approach brought greater electoral success for the party. PAS captured the state of Kelantan at the 1990 election and Terengganu in 1999.[4] His presidency saw the formation of the Barisan Alternatif coalition between PAS, the Democratic Action Party and Keadilan, which made large gains in the 1999 election.[5] In the face of criticism from the party's conservatives, he justified cooperation with non-Muslim opposition parties by arguing that PAS's 'struggle for justice' was 'not only for the Malays, not only for the Muslims, but for all Malaysians'.[6]

Fadzil also set about infusing the party's youth ranks with urban professionals, such as Hatta Ramli, Dzulkefly Ahmad and Nasharudin Mat Isa, to diversify the party's future leadership beyond religious clerics.[7]

Fadzil died on 23 June 2002 after undergoing heart bypass surgery.[8] He was succeeded as PAS President and leader of the opposition in Parliament by Abdul Hadi Awang.

He was an alumnus of Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt.[9]

  1. ^ "Islam and Violence in Malaysia" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
  2. ^ Stark, Jan. "Constructing an Islamic Model in Two Malaysian States: PAS Rule in Kelantan and Terengganu". Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia (April 2004). Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  3. ^ Liow, Joseph Chinyong (2009). Piety and Politics: Islamism in Contemporary Malaysia. Oxford University Press. p. 76. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  4. ^ Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid (2006). "5". In Saw Swee-Hock (ed.). Malaysia: Recent Trends and Challenges. K. Kesavapany. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 110. Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  5. ^ "The Passing of Datuk Fadzil Noor, a Great Malaysian". Aliran Monthly. Archived from the original on 6 June 2008. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  6. ^ Liow, Joseph Chinyong (2009). Piety and Politics: Islamism in Contemporary Malaysia. Oxford University Press. p. 77. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  7. ^ Liew Chin Tong (1 January 2007). "PAS LEADERSHIP: New Faces and Old Constraints". Southeast Asian Affairs. Archived from the original on 25 June 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  8. ^ "Fadzil Noor, a Malaysian Islamist, Dies at 65". The New York Times. 25 June 2002. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  9. ^ "Death of PAS leader leaves party facing difficult decisions - Media Monitors Network (MMN)". Media Monitors Network (MMN). 8 July 2002. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2017.