Abdul Ghafar bin Baba (; 18 February 1925 – 23 April 2006) was a Malaysian politician who served as 6th

Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia The deputy prime minister of Malaysia (; ) is the second-highest political office in Malaysia. There have been 15 officeholders since the office was created in 1957. The first prime minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, started the convent ...

from 1986 to 1993.

Life and career

He was born on 18 February 1925 in Kuala Pilah,

Negeri Sembilan Negeri Sembilan (, Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Nogoghi Sombilan'', ''Nismilan''), historically spelled as Negri Sembilan, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia which lies on the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, wes ...

, the son of impoverished villagers from Malacca state who emigrated as pastoral nomads, namely Baba Abdullah from Sungai Udang and his wife, Saodah Salleh from

Bemban Bemban is a small town in Jasin District in the Malaysian state of Malacca. Economy * Mydin Hypermarket Bandar Jasin Bestari Residential neighbourhoods * Bandar Jasin Bestari Sports and recreation * Orna Golf and Country Club - A golf resort o ...

. Ghafar Baba became a teacher and later became a member of the

United Malays National Organisation The United Malays National Organisation (Abbreviation, abbrev: UMNO; , PEKEMBAR) is a Conservatism, conservative, Nationalism, Malay nationalist political party in Malaysia. As the oldest national political party in the country (since its ince ...

(UMNO)

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

, which is part of the

Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional (BN; ) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1974 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties to succeed the Alliance Party. It is the third largest political coalition with 30 seats in ...

coalition. In 1943, he married Toh Puan Asmah Binti Alang (1927–2004) and they had twelve children, three of whom he outlived. In the early 1990s, he polygamously married his second wife, Toh Puan Heryati Abdul Rahim, with whom he had one child, and divorced in 2003. In 1986, he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister by Prime Minister

Mahathir Mohamad Mahathir bin Mohamad (; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author and doctor who was respectively the fourth and seventh Prime Minister of Malaysia, prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and from 2018 to 2020. He was the ...

. Previously,

Musa Hitam Musa bin Hitam (Jawi alphabet, Jawi: موسى بن هيتم; born 18 April 1934) is a Malaysian retired politician who served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 1986, serving under Mahathir Mohamad. He was the chairman of Si ...

held the deputy premiership but resigned, citing irreconcilable differences with Mahathir.Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra (1986). ''Political Awakening'', p. 86. Pelanduk Publications. . On 15 October 1993, during a UMNO election, he was challenged by

Anwar Ibrahim Anwar bin Ibrahim (; born 10 August 1947), also known by his abbreviation as DSAI and PMX, is a Malaysian politician who is the 10th prime minister of Malaysia since 2022. A member of the People's Justice Party (Malaysia), People's Justice P ...

. Ghafar Baba was defeated by Anwar and subsequently lost the deputy premiership. He died on 23 April 2006, at Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre in

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

due to cardiopulmonary complications. He had been in critical condition for several months prior to his death. He was buried the same day in an official state funeral at Makam Pahlawan near

Masjid Negara The National Mosque of Malaysia (; Jawi script, Jawi: ) is a mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It has a capacity for 15,000 people and is situated among of gardens. Its key features are a minaret and a 16-pointed star concrete main roof. ...

Posts

* Teachers' Union secretary (1946–1948) * Melaka UMNO Secretary (1951) * Melaka UMNO Chairman (1957) * Chief Minister of Malacca (1959–1967) * UMNO Supreme Working Council member (1957) * UMNO Information chief (1959) * UMNO Vice President (1962–1987) * Barisan Nasional Secretary-General * Federal Territories Barisan Nasional liaison chief * Deputy Prime Minister and UMNO Deputy President (1986–1993)

Election results

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* ** Recipient of the Malaysian Commemorative Medal (Gold) (PPM) (1965) **

Grand Commander of the

Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia The Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia () is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country and awarded by the sovereign. The order was instituted on 15 April 1966 and gazetted on 30 June 1966 ...

(SSM) – Tun (1995) * ** MY-FED Darjah Mahkota Wilayah - Grand Knight - SUMW

Grand Knight of the Order of the Territorial Crown (SUMW) – Datuk Seri Utama (2017–posthumously)

Foreign honours

* ** Jubilee Medal of Moscow (1966)

Places named after him

* Persiaran Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba, a major road at

Peringgit Peringgit is a suburb of Malacca City and a mukim of Melaka Tengah District in the Malaysian state of Malacca. It is home to several bungalows functioning as government offices and quarters or state galleries, which were built during British colo ...

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

. * Persimpangan Tun Abdul Ghafar, an intersections between Jalan Batu Berendam, Persiaran Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba and Lebuh Ayer Keroh at

. * The Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba Memorial, a memorial and museum in honour of his achievements located at Persiaran Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba in

. * MRSM Tun Ghafar Baba a

MARA Mara or MARA may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Mara (''Doctor Who''), an evil being in two ''Doctor Who'' serials * Mara (She-Ra), fictional characters from the ''She-Ra and the Princesses of Power'' and ''The New Advent ...

institution boarding school at Jasin,

. * SMK Ghafar Baba (formerly SMK Masjid Tanah), a secondary school at Masjid Tanah,

. * Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba Mosque, Sungai Udang,

. * Six FELDA settlements were renamed after him, they are FELDA Tun Ghafar Machap, FELDA Tun Ghafar Hutan Percha, FELDA Tun Ghafar Menggong, FELDA Tun Ghafar Kemendor, FELDA Tun Ghafar Air Kangkong and FELDA Tun Ghafar Bukit Senggeh. * Kolej Tun Ghafar Baba, a residential college at Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Kuala Perlis, Perlis * Kolej Tun Ghafar Baba, a residential college at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor

Notes and references

{{Portal bar, Malaysia, Biography, Politics 1925 births Malaysian people of Malay descent 2006 deaths Malaysian politicians of Malay descent Malaysian Muslims Malaysian schoolteachers United Malays National Organisation politicians Members of the Dewan Negara Deputy prime ministers of Malaysia Government ministers of Malaysia Agriculture ministers of Malaysia Members of the Malacca State Legislative Assembly Malacca state executive councillors Chief ministers of Malacca Grand Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia Sultan Idris Education University alumni Malaysian MPs 1971–1974 Malaysian MPs 1974–1978 Malaysian MPs 1978–1982 Malaysian MPs 1982–1986 Malaysian MPs 1986–1990 Malaysian MPs 1990–1995 Malaysian MPs 1995–1999 Malaysian MPs 1999–2004