Nationality Malaysian | Name Mohamed Rahmat Occupation Politician Children Nur Jazlan Mohamed | |
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Born 4 January 1938Pulai, Johor, Malaysia ( 1938-01-04 ) | ||
Tan Sri Mohamed Rahmat (4 January 1938 – 1 January 2010) was a Malaysian politician, and former Information Minister of Malaysia (1978–1982, 1987–1999). He was famously known as Tok Mat, Mat Setia and Mat Mr Propaganda.
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Life
Mohamed Rahmat was born on 4 January 1938 in Pulai near Johor Bahru, Johor.
Political career
He was the Member of Parliament for the federal constituency of Pulai from 1969 to 1999 representing UMNO-Barisan Nasional. He was also appointed for a short time as the ambassador to Indonesia with a ministerial rank from 1982 to 1984.
Rahmat was appointed as the Secretary-General of both the party of United Malays National Organisation from 1988 to 1996 and the ruling coalition of Barisan Nasional from 1988 to 1999.
Career as Minister of Information
Rahmat has served as the Minister of Information two times during the administration of two different Prime Ministers: under Tun Hussein Onn from 1978 to 1982 and Mahathir Mohamad from 1987 to 1999.
As the Minister of Information, Mohamed introduced the "Setia Bersama Rakyat" (Semarak) programme which was aimed at instilling patriotism among the people.
One notorious account from his post in office was when he ordered rock singers to trim their long hair if they wanted to participate in programmes aired by public broadcaster Radio Televisyen Malaysia in 1992. Among those who followed the directive were the rock groups Wings, with lead singer Awie; and Search, with lead singer Amy.
Death
Mohamed Rahmat died on 1 January 2010 in Kuala Lumpur at the age of 71. His body was laid to rest at the Bukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery, Kuala Lumpur.
Legacy
Several places and honours were named after him, including: