FORMER INFORMATION MINISTER A LOYAL NATIONALIST

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 2 (Bernama) -- 'Tok Mat', 'Mat Setia', 'Mat Umno' and 'Mat
Bulat' are among the nicknames given to reflect the personality and character of
the late Mohamed Rahmat, a former information minister who passed away on
Friday, who had left a significant mark on the country's political scene and
entertainment industry.

As the information minister on two occasions, from 1978 to 1982 and from
1987 to 1999, Mohamed, or better known as "Tok Mat", had his own style as the
government's information agent to ensure that all government policies reached
the grassroots.

Tok Mat was instrumental in the "Setia Bersama Rakyat" or "Semarak"
campaigns, which became a two-pronged programme to instill the feeling of love
for the country and regain the people's trust in Umno which was then going
through a leadership crisis.

He had also come up with the patriotic song 'Setia' which had become so
important that it was played every time after the national anthem 'Negaraku' was
played.

His loyalty to the party was also proven when he was prepared to shoulder a
heavy responsibility as the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) and
ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary-general from 1988 to 2004.

As Umno secretary-general, he was responsible for regaining the party's
integrity and injecting life back into Umno after the Malay party was
deregistered due to a leadership crisis in 1988.

In fact, he was often given the trust to draw up a strategy whether to
regain the people's support for the party or leadership.

Born in Pulai in southern state of Johor on Jan 4, 1938, Mohamed had his
secondary education at Maktab Abu Bakar, Johor Baharu, Johor's capital, in 1956
before pursuing his Bachelor of Letters at Universiti Indonesia, Jakarta in
1961. However, he did not have time to complete his studies at the master's
level due the confrontation between Malaysia and Indonesia.

Beginning his career as a teacher at the King Edward VII School, Taiping,
in northern state of Perak in 1963, Mohamed later ventured into script writing
at Filem Negara Malaysia (National Film of Malaysia) for one year in 1964.

However, the Propaganda Minister died Friday at the age of 71, leaving a
legacy and his propaganda strategies for reference.

Mohamed, who was to celebrate his 72nd birthday on Monday, died in his sleep
at his residence in Bukit Damansara, here, Friday morning.

His eldest son, Nur Jazlan, who is also the Member of Parliament for Pulai,
said his father was found dead at about 8am when his mother went to wake him up
from sleep.

He said his father had been suffering from kidney ailment for the past 10
years and had to undergo dialysis treatment every day.

Recounting his father's involvement in politics, he said it began since his
father joined Umno in 1963 and being elected as the Member of Parliament for
Johor Baru Barat (which was renamed Pulai in 1974) in the general election in
1969.

Mohamed remained as the Pulai Member of Parliament for six terms or 30 years
until 1999.

In the cabinet, Mohamed was appointed as Information Minister (1978-1982)
and in his capacity as Information Minister, he was also appointed Umno
secretary-general and Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary-general from 1994 to 2004.

Mohamed had also served as Malaysia's Ambassador to Jakarta, Indonesia with
a ministerial status in 1982.

Among the memorable incidents when he was Information Minister was resolving
the disciplinary issue that arose in 1990 when he insisted that rock singers
appearing on television cropped their hair.

After retiring from the government and Umno, he had written a book
entitled "Umno: Akhir Sebuah Impian" (Umno: The End Of A Dream) which delved on
political manipulation by past Umno leaders to hold on to power.
-- BERNAMA