Mohd Asri bin Muda ( Jawi: ; 10 October 1923 – 28 August 1992) was a Malaysian politician who served as the President of the

Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party The Malaysian Islamic Party, also known as the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party ( Malay: ''Parti Islam Se-Malaysia''; abbrev: PAS), is an Islamist political party in Malaysia. Ideologically focused on Islamic fundamentalism and Malay dominanc ...

(PAS) from 1969 to 1982, and as the

Menteri Besar head of government, Heads of government in Malaysia's many states of Malaysia, states take on various titles. Seven out of nine in the Peninsular Malaysia, Peninsular who each have Monarchies of Malaysia, historical monarchs are known as the Men ...

(Chief Minister) of

Kelantan Kelantan (; Kelantan-Pattani Malay, Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate''; ) is a state in Malaysia. The capital, Kota Bharu, includes the royal seat of Kubang Kerian. The honorific, honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' ("The Blissful Abode"). ...

from 1964 to 1973.

Early and personal life

Asri was born on 10 October 1923 in

Kota Bharu Kota Bharu ( Kelantanese: ''Koto Baghu''), colloquially referred to as KB, is a town in Malaysia that serves as the state capital and royal seat of Kelantan. It is situated in the northeastern part of Peninsular Malaysia and lies near the mout ...

, the capital of

. He was a school teacher and journalist before entering politics. He was elected to the Kelantan State Assembly and the federal

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

in the 1959 election. He married Sakinah Junid on 15 August 1948 and has 9 children, 2 males and 7 females, namely Noordianauli Asri, Husni Zaim, Ratna Inzah, Mutia Sabihah, Naliyah, Khalidah, Nasibah, Najah and Mohd Taqiuddin.

Menteri Besar of Kelantan

Asri became the Menteri Besar of Kelantan in 1964, replacing Ishak Lotfi Omar. He served as Menteri Besar until 1974, when he resigned to become a Minister in the federal government.

PAS Presidency

Under Asri's leadership, PAS became a member of the governing

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 ...

(BN) coalition for the first and only time, from 1973 to 1978. Asri became the Minister for Land and Rural Development in the BN government. Asri's leadership was also notable for the shifting of PAS's outlook towards Malay nationalism. Both joining the BN coalition and moving away from religious-based policy platforms caused the party to lose support. In 1982, Asri was ousted as PAS leader by the religious ''

ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

'' faction of the party, to be replaced by Yusof Rawa. After Asri's tenure, PAS shifted to a more radical religious platform.

After PAS

Following his loss of the PAS presidency, Asri refrained from joining 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) or Pan-Malaysian Islamic Front (BERJASA), decided to form his own Muslim People's Party of Malaysia or ''

Parti Hizbul Muslimin Malaysia The Muslim People's Party of Malaysia (, Jawi: ڤرتي حزب المسلمين مليسيا; often known by its acronym: HAMIM) was a political party in Malaysia. HAMIM was founded in 1983 by Asri Muda, the former President of the Pan-Mala ...

'' (HAMIM) in 1983 but failed to achieve any electoral success. He resigned from HAMIM together with other party representatives on 17 November 1988 after his attempt to dissolve HAMIM in an Extraordinary Muktamar failed. In 1988, he finally joined PAS's rivals UMNO, claiming that PAS had "deviated" and had been "infiltrated by extremist foreign elements".

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* : **

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

Order of the Defender of the Realm The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm () is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace of God-Defender of the Realm). The o ...

(PMN) – Tan Sri (1992) * : ** MY-KEL Order of the Crown of Kelantan - Star of Muhammad

Commander of the Order of the Crown of Kelantan (PMK) (1963) ** MY-KEL Order of the Crown of Kelantan - Star of Muhammad

Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Kelantan (SPMK) – Dato' (1965) ** Dato' Sri Paduka Raja (1969) * : ** MY-SAB Order of Kinabalu - SPDK

Grand Commander of the Order of Kinabalu (SPDK) – Datuk Seri Panglima (1974)

References

{{Authority control 1923 births 1992 deaths Malaysian political party founders Presidents of Malaysian Islamic Party Former Malaysian Islamic Party politicians Parti Hizbul Muslimin Malaysia politicians United Malays National Organisation politicians Members of the Kelantan State Legislative Assembly Kelantan state executive councillors Chief ministers of Kelantan Government ministers of Malaysia Leaders of the opposition (Malaysia) Commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm Grand Commanders of the Order of Kinabalu Malaysian MPs 1959–1964 Malaysian MPs 1964–1969 Malaysian MPs 1971–1974 Malaysian MPs 1974–1978