Abdul Kadir Yusof

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Yusof is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Abdul Kadir. The word "bin" or "binti"/"binte" means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.

Abdul Kadir Yusof (Jawi: عبدالقادر بن يوسف; 10 September 1917 – 18 April 1992) was a Malaysian politician. A lawyer by profession, Abdul Kadir held the posts of Attorney General and Solicitor-General at various points during his lifetime.^[1] He was also the Minister of Law. Together with his wife Fatimah Hashim, former Welfare Minister, Abdul Kadir represented one half of the first couple to be on the Malaysian cabinet.

Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Yusof PMN SPMJ SPDK SSIJ
عبدالقادر يوسف‎
Minister of Land and Regional Development
In office 1977–1980
Monarchs	Yahya Petra Ahmad Shah
Preceded by	Asri Muda
Succeeded by	Shariff Ahmad
Minister of Law and Justice
In office 1970–1976
Monarchs	Abdul Halim Yahya Petra
Preceded by	Abdul Ghani Gilong
Succeeded by	Hamzah Abu Samah
Attorney General of Malaysia
In office 1963–1977
Monarchs	Putra Ismail Nasiruddin Abdul Halim Yahya Petra
Preceded by	Cecil Majella Sheridan (as Attorney General of the Federation of Malaya)
Succeeded by	Hamzah Abu Samah
Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Tenggaroh
In office 1974–1982
Preceded by	Constituency created
Succeeded by	Khadri Sabran
Personal details
Born	(1917-09-10)10 September 1917 Parit Sakai, Muar, Johor, Unfederated Malay States, British Malaya (now Malaysia)
Died	18 April 1992(1992-04-18) (aged 74) Bukit Pantai, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur
Resting place	Makam Pahlawan, Masjid Negara, Kuala Lumpur
Political party	United Malays National Organisation (UMNO)
Other political affiliations	Barisan Nasional (BN)
Spouse	Fatimah Hashim ​ (m. 1943)​
Children	6
Alma mater	Lincoln's Inn

Life and education

Abdul Kadir was born in Parit Sakai, Muar, Johor in 1917. He began his education at Muar Government English School and later graduated from Raffles College in Singapore with a Diploma in Arts in 1941. A year later, he joined the Johor Civil Service and was seconded as a Circuit Magistrate in 1950. Abdul Kadir later pursue legal studies at Lincoln's Inn in 1952, graduating with a Barrister-at-Law in 1952 and was called to the English Bar the same year.^[2]

During his lifetime, he was a member of the United Malays National Organisation, the leading party in the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional. He was a Tenggaroh State Assemblyman.

Family

Kadir is survived by his wife, politician Fatimah Hashim, six children,^[3] nineteen grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.^{[citation needed]}

Death

Abdul Kadir died of lung cancer at his home in Kuala Lumpur on 18 April 1992 and was buried in Makam Pahlawan near Masjid Negara, Kuala Lumpur on the next day.^[3]

Foundation

The Yayasan Kadir & Fatimah (Yayasan K&F) confers the Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Gold Medal Award to UIA (Faculty of Law for the best Syariah Law student) and to UKM (Faculty of Law for the best Law Student). The Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Gold Medal is also awarded to the student who tops the Accounting Law paper for CPA. The Yayasan recently started conferring the Tun Fatimah medal for the best female student active in community work for the first time in September 2007 and will be awarded annually to Universiti Malaya, Universiti Teknologi Mara and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia students.

Yayasan K&F continues to support public primary schools in Johor and Kedah, organise the annual Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Charity Golf Tournament to raise funds, and numerous other charitable causes through Abdul Kadir and Fatimah's children and grandchildren.

Legacy

Several projects and institutions were named after him, including:

• Dewan Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Yusuf in Attorney General Chambers in Putrajaya.
• Perpustakaan Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Yusuf in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan.
• Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tan Sri Abdul Kadir in Mersing, Johor.
• Sekolah Agama Tan Sri Abdul Kadir in Endau, Johor.

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

• Malaysia :
  • Recipient of the Malaysian Commemorative Medal (Silver) (PPM) (1965)^[4]
  • Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (PMN) – Tan Sri (1966)^[4]
• Johor :
  • Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor (SPMJ) – Dato' (1973)^[5]
  • Knight Grand Companion of the Order of Loyalty of Sultan Ismail of Johor (SSIJ) – Dato' (1976)
• Sabah :
  • Grand Commander of the Order of Kinabalu (SPDK) – Datuk Seri Panglima