Wan Mokhtar bin Wan Ahmad (21 March 1932 – 21 September 2020) was a Malaysian politician who served as the 11th Menteri Besar of Terengganu. In office for 25 years, he was the longest-serving head of the Terengganu state government (1974 - 1999). He also served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Kemaman (1964 - 1974) and Member of the Terengganu State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Cukai (1974 - 1999).
Wan Mokhtar was a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) in the then-ruling Alliance and Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. He was an ally of the similarly longest-serving Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. In 1987, he was elected the vice-president of UMNO, alongside Anwar Ibrahim, under Mahathir's running team.
His political prominence in the state came to an end in the 1999 state election, when the then-opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) ousted the Barisan Nasional (BN) state government with a landslide victory. He also lost his Chukai state seat then. He was then appointed as the Malaysian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 2000 to 2005.
Personal life Wan Mokhtar was married to Aishahtun Mohd Fadlullah Suhaimi (1937–2018) and the couple had five children. One of his sons, Wan Abdul Hakim was elected in the 2013 state election as the MLA for the Air Putih state assembly constituency for one term from 2013 to 2018 before being defeated in the next state elections. Results only available from the 2004 election.
Death On 21 September 2020, Wan Mokhtar died at 6:20 a.m. at Prince Court Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur due to heart complications. He was 88 years old and is survived by his 5 children. He was laid to rest at the Section 21 Muslim Cemetery in Shah Alam, Selangor.
Election results + Parliament of MalaysiaYearConstituencyCandidateVotesPctOpponent(s)VotesPctBallots castMajorityTurnout1964P029 Kemaman (UMNO)10,15364.20%Wan Hamid Wan Ibrahim (SF)3,07219.43%16,5567,08175.21%Syed Noh Alwee (PMIP)2,58916.37%1969Wan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO)9,42852.49%Wan Yahya Wan Mohamed (PMIP)8,53447.51%18,87289470.02%
+ Terengganu State Legislative AssemblyYearConstituencyCandidateVotesPctOpponent(s)VotesPctBallots castMajorityTurnout1974N28 ChukaiWan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO)3,429 59.54%Mohamad Bin Abdul Rahman (PSRM)1,85832.26%5,759 1,571 69.19%1978Wan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO)1982Wan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO)1986N31 CukaiWan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO)5,56267.13%Awang Dagang Yusof (PAS)2,56630.97%8,6502,99672.17%Zainal Abidin Mustaffa (SDP)1581.91%1990Wan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO)6,20658.39%Alias Abdul Rahman (S46)4,42241.60%10,9621,78477.70%1995Wan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO)7,25660.77%Alias Abdul Rahman (S46)4,68539.23%12,1962,57176.30%1999Wan Mokhtar Ahmad (UMNO)6,12848.28%Awang Jusoh (PAS)6,56451.72%12,89443678.47%
Honours Honours of Malaysia
Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM) – Tan Sri (1988) Officer of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (KMN) (1971) Recipient of the Malaysian Commemorative Medal (Silver) (PPM) (1965)
Knight Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor (DPMJ) – Dato' (1983)
Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak (DA) – Datuk Amar (1981)
Knight Grand Companion of the Order of Sultan Mahmud I of Terengganu (SSMT) – Dato' Seri (1983) Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Terengganu (SPMT) – Dato' (1976) Meritorious Service Medal (PJK)
References