Ghafar Baba

Yang Amat Berbahagia Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba S.M.N.
6th Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
In office 1986 – 1 December 1993
Preceded by	Musa Hitam
Succeeded by	Anwar Ibrahim
Personal details
Born	(1925-02-18)18 February 1925 Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan, British Malaya (now Malaysia)
Died	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Resting place	Makam Pahlawan, Masjid Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Political party	United Malays National Organisation
Spouse(s)	Asmah Alang Dayang Heryati Abdul Rahim
Occupation	Teacher
Religion	Sunni Islam

Tun Abdul Ghafar bin Baba (18 February 1925 – 23 April 2006) was a Malaysian politician from Melaka who was Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1986 to 1993.

Life and career

He was born on 18 February 1925 in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan, the son of an impoverished villager. Ghafar Baba became a teacher and later became a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) political party, which is part of the Barisan Nasional coalition.

In 1942, he married Toh Puan Asmah Binti Alang and fathered twelve children, five of whom have died. In the early 1990s, he married his second wife Heryati Abdul Rahim, and had one child with her.

In 1986, he was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Previously, Musa Hitam held the deputy premiership but he resigned, citing irreconcilable differences with Mahathir. On 15 October 1993, during a UMNO election, he was challenged by Anwar Ibrahim. Ghafar Baba was defeated by Anwar and subsequently lost the deputy premiership.

On 23 April 2006, he died at Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur due to poor heart and lung condition. He had been in critical condition for several months prior to his death. He was buried in an official state funeral at Makam Pahlawan near Masjid Negara, Kuala Lumpur on the same day alongside the graves of former Prime Ministers Tun Abdul Razak and Tun Hussein Onn and former Deputy Prime Minister Tun Dr Ismail before nightfall.

Posts

• Teachers' Union secretary (1946–1948)
• Melaka UMNO Secretary (1951)
• Melaka UMNO Chairman (1955)
• Chief Minister of Malacca (1959–1963)
• UMNO High Council member (1957)
• UMNO Information Chief (1958)
• UMNO Vice-President (1962–1987)
• Barisan Nasional Secretary-General
• Federal Territory Barisan Nasional Chief
• Deputy Prime Minister (1986–1993)

Legacy

Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba Memorial in Malacca.

Several places were named after him, including:

• Persiaran Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba, a major road at Peringgit, Melaka.
• Persimpangan Tun Abdul Ghafar, an intersections between Jalan Batu Berendam, Persiaran Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba and Lebuh Ayer Keroh at Peringgit, Melaka.
• The Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba Memorial, a memorial and museum in honour of his achievements located at Persiaran Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba at Peringgit, Melaka.
• MRSM Tun Ghafar Baba an institution facilities at Jasin, Melaka.
• Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Ghafar Baba (formerly Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Masjid Tanah) a secondary school at Masjid Tanah, Melaka.
• Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba Mosque, Sungai Udang, Melaka.
• Six FELDA settlements were renamed after him, they are FELDA Tun Ghafar Machap, FELDA Tun Ghafar Hutan Percha, FELDA Tun Ghafar Menggong, FELDA Tun Ghafar Kemendor, FELDA Tun Ghafar Air Kangkong and FELDA Tun Ghafar Bukit Senggeh.

Notes and references

Preceded by Musa Hitam

Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia 1986 – 1 December 1993

Succeeded by Anwar Ibrahim