Mohamed Noah Omar

Mohamed Noah bin Omar (13 August 1897 – 6 September 1991) was a Malaysian politician. He was one of the leading figures who founded the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and became the first Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat.

Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Dato' Haji Mohamed Noah Omar PMN SPMJ PIS JP
1st Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat
In office 1 September 1959 – 29 February 1964
Monarch	Tuanku Abdul Rahman Sultan Hisamuddin Tuanku Syed Putra
Prime Minister	Tunku Abdul Rahman
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Syed Esa Alwee
3rd President of the Dewan Negara
In office 24 February 1969 – 28 July 1970
Monarch	Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin
Prime Minister	Tunku Abdul Rahman
Preceded by	Syed Sheh Hassan Barakbah
Succeeded by	Abdul Hamid Khan
Member of the Federation of Malaya / Malaysia Parliament for Johore Bahru Timor
In office 1959–1964
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Fatimah Abdul Majid
Majority	3,535 (1959)
Personal details
Born	Mohamed Noah bin Omar 13 August 1897 Bandar Maharani, Muar, Johor, British Malaya (now Malaysia)
Died	6 September 1991 (aged 94) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Resting place	Makam Pahlawan, Masjid Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Citizenship	Malaysian
Political party	United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) (1946-1991)
Spouse(s)	Maimun Abdul Manaf Siti Amirah Kusuma.
Children	5 (including Rahah, Suhaila)
Alma mater	Syrian Protestant College, Beirut, Lebanon

Early life

Noah Omar was born in Bandar Maharani, Muar, Johor on 13 August 1897. He is a descendant of the 17th century Bugis Raja Chempa.[1] His ancestors were the aristocratic Orang Kaya of Muar. He attended the Syrian Protestant College in Beirut, Lebanon, after which he acquired the nickname "Noah Beirut". After returning, he worked as a lorry driver and clerk before joining the Johor civil service.[2]

Family

Noah married twice, firstly to Maimun Abdul Manaf and then to Siti Amirah Kusuma. His children from his first marriage are Rahah, the widow of Tun Abdul Razak, who was 2nd Prime Minister from 1970 to 1976, Suhaila, the widow of Tun Hussein Onn, who was 3rd Prime Minister from 1976 to 1981, and Fakhriah who married Abdullah Ahmad, a member of the Johor royal court. Their grandsons Najib Abdul Razak was the 6th Prime Minister, while Hishamuddin Hussein was Minister of Defence.[3] Noah and Siti Amirah had an elder child, Nabiha, who died at a young age.[2] Noah had only one son, Abu Rais, who died at his early age of 40. Siti Amirah Kusuma died on 17 July 2014 in Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) tragedy at Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine.

Career

Politics

Noah was very active in the Malayan nationalist movement along with his contemporaries, Onn Jaafar, Haji Anwar bin Abdul Malik and Haji Syed Alwi bin Syed Sheikh al-Hadi. Together they founded UMNO on 1 May 1946 as a means to rally the Malays against the Malayan Union, which was perceived as threatening Malay privileges and the position of the Malay rulers.

After independence, he became the first Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of Parliament between 1959 and 1964. Subsequently, he was President of the Dewan Negara, the upper house, from 1968 to 1970.

Business

Noah together with Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong formed a private company called Genting Highlands Berhad (now Genting Group), which was set up on 27 April 1965 to construct Genting Highlands. Tan Sri Lim successfully obtained approval for the alienation of 12,000 acres (49 km²) and 2,800 acres (11 km²) of land from the Pahang and Selangor state governments respectively between the years 1965 and 1970. Its' primary hill resort, Resort World Genting is currently Malaysia's only casino and highland resort. A mosque built at the hill station is named after him.

In 1970, Noah was appointed a director of MUI Group. He was appointed Chairman of the Group in 1980.[4]

Death

Noah died on 6 September 1991 in Kuala Lumpur, aged of 94. He was buried at Makam Pahlawan near Masjid Negara, Kuala Lumpur.

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

•  Malaysia :
  • Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (PMN) – Tan Sri (1963)[5]
•  Johor :
  • Knight Grand Commander Order of the Crown of Johor (SPMJ) – Dato' (1960)[6]
  • Sultan Ibrahim Medal (PIS)

See also

• Johore Bahru Timor (federal constituency)

References

1. Siapa Mohamed Noah Omar? Archived 25 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Azman Anuar, 17 June 2012, Utusan Malaysia
2. Johan Jaaffar (5 June 2010). "Weaving the life stories of 'The Three Swans'". New Straits Times. p. 27.
3. "Najib's three beloved 'swans'". The Malaysian Insider. 31 May 2010. Archived from the original on 9 August 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
4. Sharmini, P. (20 June 2012). "A man who loved life". New Straits Times. Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
5. "Senarai Penuh Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan Tahun 1963" (PDF).
6. "90 RECEIVE SULTAN'S C-DAY AWARDS". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Singapore: The Straits Times. 12 February 1960. Retrieved 1 February 2021.