Mohamed Rahmat

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

Mohamed bin Rahmat (4 January 1938 – 1 January 2010)^[1] 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.^[2]

Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Mohamed Rahmat PSM SPMJ DPMJ SSIJ SIMP SPDK SSSA SPMT DPMS DGSM PNBS KMN PIS BSI
Ministerial roles
1971–1973	Parliamentary Secretary of Education
1973–1974	Deputy Minister of Finance
1974–1976	Deputy Minister of Coordination of Public Corporations
1976–1978	Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry
1978–1982	Minister of Information
1987–1999	Minister of Information
Faction represented in Dewan Rakyat
1969–1974	Alliance Party
1974–1999	Barisan Nasional
Other roles
1982–1985	Ambassadors to Indonesia
Personal details
Born	(1938-01-04)4 January 1938 Pulai, Johor Bahru, Johor, Unfederated Malay States, British Malaya (now Malaysia)
Died	1 January 2010(2010-01-01) (aged 71) Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Resting place	Bukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Children	Nur Jazlan Mohamed
Alma mater	University of Indonesia
Occupation	Politician

Personal life

Mohamed Rahmat was born on 4 January 1938 in the village of Pulai, Johor Bahru, Johor.

Political career

Mohamed Rahmat first elected as Member of Parliament of Johore Bahru Barat seat in 1969. He was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Education in Tun Razak first cabinet. He was the Member of Parliament for 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.^[1][3]

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.^[4]

Career as Minister of Information

Rahmat has served as the Minister of Information two times from 1978 to 1982 and from 1987 to 1999.^[4]

As the Minister of Information, Mohamed introduced the "Setia Bersama Rakyat" (Semarak) programme which was aimed at instilling patriotism among the people.^[3]

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.^[5]

Death

Mohamed Rahmat died on 1 January 2010 in Kuala Lumpur at the age of 71, just three days before his 72nd birthday. His body was laid to rest at the Bukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery, Kuala Lumpur.

Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad expressed his condolences to the family of Mohamed Rahmat. He acknowledged the excellent service that Mohamed provided during his time as a minister, stating that he greatly appreciated his contributions. Mahathir also mentioned his gratitude for Mohamed's service both as a minister in his cabinet and later as Malaysia's Ambassador to Indonesia, holding the rank of minister.^[6]

Legacy

Several places and honours were named after him, including:

• Kompleks Tan Sri Mohammad Rahmat in Tampoi, Johor Bahru, Johor.

Election results

Parliament of Malaysia^[7]

Year	Constituency	Candidate		Votes	Pct	Opponent(s)		Votes	Pct	Ballots cast	Majority	Turnout
1969	P101 Johore Bahru Barat		Mohamed Rahmat (UMNO)	12,319	65.28%		Daing Ibrahim Othman (DAP)	6,553	34.72%	19,789	5,766	93.51%
1974	P113 Pulai		Mohamed Rahmat (UMNO)	18,835	75.79%		A. Razak Ahmad (PSRM)	6,015	24.21%	26,346	12,820	81.73%
1978			Mohamed Rahmat (UMNO)	29,717	88.05%		Abdul Hamid Abdul Rahim (PAS)	4,034	11.95%	Unknown	25,683	Unknown
1982			Mohamed Rahmat (UMNO)	33,861	77.02%		Abdullah Abdul Hamid (DAP)	10,105	22.98%	46,412	23,756	75.71%
1986	P131 Pulai		Mohamed Rahmat (UMNO)	21,743	64.33%		Gurdial Singh Nijan Sadu Singh (PSRM)	12,056	35.67%	34,904	9,687	70.75%
1990			Mohamed Rahmat (UMNO)	29,855	62.93%		A. Razak Ahmad (PRM)	17,583	37.07%	49,140	12,272	76.08%
1995	P142 Pulai		Mohamed Rahmat (UMNO)	36,871	83.16%		Omar Sharif (S46)	7,468	16.84%	45,946	29,403	67.16%

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

• Malaysia :
  • Officer of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (KMN) (1972)^[8]
  • Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM) – Tan Sri (2000)^[9]
• Johor :
  • Knight Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor (DPMJ) – Dato' (1973)^[10]
  • Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor (SPMJ) – Dato' (1975)^[11]
  • Knight Grand Companion of the Order of Loyalty of Sultan Ismail of Johor (SSIJ) – Dato' (1977)^[12]
  • Sultan Ibrahim Medal (PIS)
  • Star of Sultan Ismail (BSI)
• Pahang :
  • Grand Knight of the Order of the Crown of Pahang (SIMP) – formerly Dato', now Dato' Indera (1987)^[13]
• Sabah :
  • Grand Commander of the Order of Kinabalu (SPDK) – Datuk Seri Panglima (1995)^[13]
• Selangor :
  • Knight Commander of the Order of the Crown of Selangor (DPMS) – Dato' (1988)^[14]
  • Knight Grand Companion of the Order of Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah (SSSA) – Dato' Seri (1990)^[15]
• Terengganu :
  • Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Terengganu (SPMT) – Dato' (1996)^[13]
• Malacca :
  • Grand Commander of the Exalted Order of Malacca (DGSM) – Datuk Seri (1997)^[13]
• Sarawak :
  • Knight Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak (PNBS) – formerly Dato', now Dato Sri (1981)^[16]