Mohamed Zahir Ismail

Yang Amat Berbahagia Tun Mohamed Zahir Ismail
Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat
In office 14 June 1982 – 14 October 2004
Preceded by	Syed Nasir Ismail
Succeeded by	Ramli Ngah Talib
Personal details
Born	19 March 1924 Alor Setar, Kedah
Died	14 October 2004 (aged 80) Kuala Lumpur
Political party	UMNO – BN
Spouse(s)	Halimatun Sa'adiah Chik
Profession	Advocate, solicitor
Religion	Sunni Islam

Tun Mohamed Zahir Ismail (19 March 1924 – 14 October 2004) was a Malaysian lawyer and politician. He was the longest-serving Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of the Malaysian Parliament.

Early life and education

Mohamed Zahir was born in Alor Setar, Kedah. He attended Sekolah Kebangsaan Hosba in Jitra and later Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid, Alor Setar. He obtained his Bachelor of Laws from Lincoln's Inn in 1955.

Career

Mohamed Zahir began practising as a lawyer from 1956. After the independence of Malaya, he served on the Kedah State EXCO from 1959 to 1963, and briefly as Menteri Besar in 1963. He was appointed to the Dewan Negara (the upper house) in August 1963, and completed two terms (of three years each) as a Senator.

He was actively involved in the formation of the Malaysia, serving as a diplomat to the United Nations and as the Malayan representative to the Cobbold Commission. In 1975, he was appointed to the Kota Bharu High Court as a judge.

Now a respected figure in Malaysian politics, he was elected Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat following the 1982 general elections, a post he held for 24 years. During his tenure, he also became President of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum and the ASEAN Inter Parliamentary Assembly.

Death

In October 2004, Mohamed Zahir died in office due to acute renal failure in Kuala Lumpur Hospital.^[1]

References

1. Speakar Dewan Rakyat Tun Zahir meninggal dunia (in Malay) AgendaDaily. 15 October 2004

Others

• Dalam lembut Tun Mohamed tetap tegas MyKMU Net (from Berita Harian) Accessed 7 June 2010.