Adenan bin Haji Satem
(
Jawi
:
??? ????? ?? ??? ????
; 27 January 1944 ? 11 January 2017), popularly known as
Tok Nan
, was a
Malaysian
politician
who served as the fifth
chief minister of Sarawak
from March 2014 to his death in January 2017. During his tenure, Adenan held the position as the President of
Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu
(PBB), which is part of the
Barisan Nasional
coalition.
[1]
He was of
Malay
descent.
[2]
[3]
He is referred to as the Father of Sarawak Unity (
Bapa Perpaduan Sarawak
).
[4]
Adenan Satem
|
---|
|
Adenan in 2016
|
|
|
In office
1 March 2014?? 11 January 2017
|
Governor
| Abdul Taib Mahmud
|
---|
Deputy
| |
---|
Preceded by
| Abdul Taib Mahmud
|
---|
Succeeded by
| Abang Johari Openg
|
---|
|
In office
1 March 2014?? 11 January 2017
|
Preceded by
| Abdul Taib Mahmud
|
---|
Succeeded by
| Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Abang Openg
|
---|
|
In office
2004?2008
|
Preceded by
| Sukinam Domo
|
---|
Succeeded by
| Nancy Shukri
|
---|
Majority
| 9,732 (
2004
)
|
---|
|
In office
20 May 2006?? 11 January 2017
|
Preceded by
| Ranum Mina
|
---|
Succeeded by
| Jamilah Anu
|
---|
Majority
| 4,136 (
2006
)
3,216 (
2011
)
|
---|
|
In office
1979?2006
|
Succeeded by
| Mohamad Ali Mahmud
|
---|
Majority
| 8,272 (
1991
)
9,708 (
2001
)
|
---|
|
In office
6 June 2011?? 28 February 2014
|
Preceded by
| Office established
|
---|
Succeeded by
| Office vacant
|
---|
|
|
Born
| Adenan bin Satem
(
1944-01-27
)
27 January 1944
Kuching
,
Empire of Japan
(now Malaysia)
|
---|
Died
| 11 January 2017
(2017-01-11)
(aged?72)
Kota Samarahan
,
Sarawak
, Malaysia
|
---|
Resting place
| Samariang Muslim Cemetery
,
Kuching
, Malaysia
|
---|
Citizenship
| Malaysian
|
---|
Political party
| Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu
|
---|
Other political
affiliations
| Barisan Nasional
|
---|
Spouse
| Jamilah Anu
|
---|
Children
| 4 (including
Azizul
)
|
---|
Alma mater
| University of Adelaide
(
LLB
)
|
---|
Occupation
| Politician
|
---|
Profession
| Lawyer
|
---|
|
Adenan's political career began in 1976 when he was appointed as the legal advisor and a committee member of
Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu
(PBB)
[9]
Later in 1979, he contested in elections and won twice, the first in a by-election for the
Muara Tuang
constituency in January, and the
third Sarawak state election
several months later in the same constituency. Adenan was the member of the
Sarawak State Legislative Assembly
(MLA) for Muara Tuang from 1979 onwards until he moved to the
Tanjong Datu
constituency for the
2006 state election
, where he won. Apart from that, he also became the
Member of Parliament
for
Batang Sadong
after winning the
2004 general election
.
Prime Minister
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
appointed him as the
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment
. He, however, gave up the post in 2006 and returned to Sarawak. In 2010, he was appointed as the special advisor to
Chief Minister
Abdul Taib Mahmud
, and later in 2011 as
State Minister with Special Functions
.
[5]
Adenan played a role in the
1987 Ming Court Affair
, a crisis that involved a power tussle between Abdul Taib Mahmud and the then governor
Abdul Rahman Ya'kub
. Abdul Rahman was the previous chief minister and Taib's uncle. The crisis helped trigger the
1987 state election
after four ministers and three deputy ministers aligned to Abdul Rahman resigned from Taib's cabinet. Adenan sided with Taib, who emerged as the victor in the crisis. Two years earlier, Adenan was appointed by Taib as PBB publicity chief as the former sought to purge Abdul Rahman's influence in the party. In 1987 soon after the seven resignations, Adenan was appointed as the state minister for land development in the Taib cabinet.
In March 2014, Adenan Satem succeeded
Abdul Taib Mahmud
as Chief Minister of Sarawak. He officially took the oath of office in a ceremony held at
Astana
on 28 February 2014,
[10]
[11]
[12]
Later that year, in conjunction with the Governor of Sarawak's 78th Birthday, he was awarded the "Datuk Patinggi" title.
[13]
Prior to the
2016 Sarawak state election
, he was praised for inspiring support among Chinese voters. He won his seat of Tanjung Datu with 93.4% of the popular vote. His party won 72 of the 82 available seats.
Relationship with Peninsular Malaysia
edit
As a chief minister, he clashed with federal government from time to time despite his party being part of the ruling federal coalition. He spoke openly about strengthening Sarawak's autonomy
[14]
and called for higher state's share of petroleum royalty, much to the consternation of Putrajaya and the national oil company
Petronas
.
[15]
Among other issues he disagreed with the federal government included official recognition for
Unified Examination Certificate (UEC)
.
[16]
During his capacity as chief minister, he also announced that Sarawak has adopted
English
as the official language of the state's administration, apart from
Bahasa Malaysia
.
[17]
Malay language activists have criticised Adenan for making English as one of the official languages of Sarawak.
[18]
Adenan also advocated the policy of 90% of all teachers from Sarawak should be Sarawakians because only people from Sarawak are sensitive to local needs. He further suggest that educational matters should be handled by the state government so that the rural schools are better looked after. His stance has received criticism for promoting regionalism in a country. Sarawak also started to recognise UEC, in contrast to federal government that does not recognise the UEC certificate.
[18]
Najib Razak
, the then head of the federal government responded positively to demands made by Sarawak. He also appointed a committee, co-chaired by Nancy Shukri (Sarawak) an
Anifah Aman
(Sabah) to study the devolution of powers to Sabah and Sarawak under federal constitution. At the same time, the federal government leaders was preoccupied with various issues such as resignation of deputy prime minister
Muhyiddin Yassin
for protesting against
1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal
,
Sabah State Water Department corruption probe
, and economic slowdown due to low prices of raw materials.
[18]
Meanwhile, the opposition leaders from the Peninsular Malaysia has held negative opinions regarding Adenan's pronouncements. Former prime minister
Mahathir Mohamad
stated that such acts would weaken the authority of the federal government.
[18]
[19]
[20]
Other leaders such as
Mohamad Sabu
and
Azmin Ali
stated that Najib had failed to check Adenan from demanding more from the federal government.
[18]
Adenan's action of barring opposition leaders from Peninsular Malaysia from campaigning in the state of Sarawak during
2016 Sarawak state election
further exacerbates the negative sentiments from the opposition camps.
[21]
[22]
[23]
Besides, Adenan also reinstated that Sarawak would not secede from Malaysia as "it was the wisest decision made by Sarawak 53 years ago".
[18]
On 11 January 2017, Adenan died of
heart attack
at the Sarawak Heart Centre,
Kota Samarahan
, aged 72 years old.
[24]
The untimely demise is the first occurrence to a serving Sarawak Chief Minister. He was laid to rest at
Samariang Muslim Cemetery
in Kuching.
[25]
His death was mourned by Sarawakians throughout the week, and many leaders attended his funeral in
Kuching
.
[26]
His other credentials were:
- ^
"Minos: Adenan will help SUPP and SPDP"
.
The Borneo Post
. 27 February 2014
. Retrieved
28 February
2014
.
- ^
"Adenan Ketua Menteri Sarawak Kelima"
(in Malay). mStar. 13 February 2014. Archived from
the original
on 9 March 2016
. Retrieved
28 July
2015
.
- ^
Zabidi Saidi (14 February 2014).
"Adenan Satem: Pilihan Siapa?"
(in Malay). Free Malaysia Today. Archived from
the original
on 17 November 2015
. Retrieved
16 November
2015
.
- ^
"Talks on devolution of power highlight of Adenan Satem's leadership"
.
Bernama
.
Astro Awani
. 13 January 2017
. Retrieved
6 March
2024
.
- ^
a
b
Dorge Rajah; Margaret Apau (12 February 2014).
"Adenan, the Chosen One"
.
The Borneo Post
. Retrieved
28 February
2014
.
- ^
"Talking to Adenan Satem ? Sarawak's next Chief Minister"
. Borneo Insider. 15 February 2014. Archived from
the original
on 2 March 2014
. Retrieved
28 February
2014
.
- ^
"
'Back in favour' Adenan Satem steps into Sarawak's hot seat"
. The Ant Daily. 14 February 2014. Archived from
the original
on 19 March 2015
. Retrieved
14 February
2014
.
- ^
"Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Haji Adenan Bin Haji Satem"
. Official website of the Chief Minister of Sarawak. Archived from
the original
on 24 June 2016
. Retrieved
21 May
2016
.
- ^
"Incoming Sarawak CM has colourful"
. The Edge Markets. 12 February 2014
. Retrieved
4 January
2022
.
- ^
"Adenan sworn in as new Sarawak CM"
.
Bernama
. Malaysiakini. 28 February 2014
. Retrieved
28 February
2014
.
- ^
"Adenan Satem sworn in as Chief Minister of Sarawak"
.
The Straits Times
. 28 February 2014. Archived from
the original
on 28 February 2014
. Retrieved
28 February
2014
.
- ^
Zora Chan (28 February 2014).
"Adenan Satem sworn in as Sarawak Chief Minister"
.
The Star
. Retrieved
28 February
2014
.
- ^
Peter Sibon; Lian Cheng (13 September 2014).
"Adenan a Datuk Patinggi"
.
The Borneo Post
. Retrieved
13 September
2014
.
- ^
"CM's call for more state autonomy reflects sentiments of Sarawakians, says political observer"
.
The Borneo Post
. 7 June 2015
. Retrieved
12 January
2017
.
- ^
Richard T.W. (12 August 2016).
"Adenan: We'll scrap permits if Petronas doesn't cooperate"
. Free Malaysia Today
. Retrieved
11 January
2017
.
- ^
Jonathan Chia (5 November 2015).
"CM: Putrajaya's UEC stand 'stupid'
"
.
The Borneo Post
. Retrieved
12 January
2017
.
- ^
Tawie, Sulok.
"Sarawak makes English official language along with BM | Malay Mail"
.
www.malaymail.com
. Retrieved
9 May
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Mersat, Neilson Ilan (2017). "REALIGNMENT OF STATE?CENTRE RELATIONS: The Adenan Factor in Sarawak".
Southeast Asian Affairs 2017
. ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute. pp.?221?234.
doi
:
10.1355/aa17-1m
.
JSTOR
26492604
. Retrieved
19 May
2022
.
- ^
Nik Man, Nik Umar.
"Kini Najib perlu melayan tuntutan Sarawak, kata Dr Mahathir (Now Najib has to treat requests from Adenan)"
. Sarawak Voice. Archived from
the original
on 24 July 2016
. Retrieved
21 May
2022
.
- ^
Hunt, Luke (11 May 2016).
"Malaysia's Najib Has Little to Cheer Over Sarawak Triumph"
. The Diplomat. Archived from
the original
on 29 March 2022
. Retrieved
21 May
2022
.
- ^
"Mat Sabu: Najib Tak Berani Tegur Adenan Satem (Mat Sabu: Najib don't dare to criticize Adenan)"
. Archived from
the original
on 21 May 2022
. Retrieved
21 May
2022
.
- ^
Alhadjri, Alyaa (1 May 2016).
"Azmin defiant of 'arrogant' Adenan, to try luck on May 4"
. Malaysiakini. Archived from
the original
on 27 January 2022
. Retrieved
21 May
2022
.
- ^
"Hannah Yeoh: Do Not Allow Adenan To Put Up Walls Around Sarawak In The Name Of Protection"
. Media Rakyat
. Retrieved
21 May
2022
.
- ^
"Adenan passes away"
.
The Borneo Post
. 11 January 2017
. Retrieved
12 January
2017
.
- ^
"Adenan Satem: 46-acres park in Kuching in memory of late Sarawak CM"
.
www.ibtimes.sg
. 16 January 2017
. Retrieved
9 May
2021
.
- ^
hermesauto (11 January 2017).
"Sarawak observes 7-day mourning for late Chief Minister Adenan; funeral on Thursday"
.
The Straits Times
. Retrieved
9 May
2021
.
- ^
"Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat"
.
- ^
"Late Adenan Satem and former Sarawak head of state lead state awards"
.
Malay Mail
.
Bernama
. 9 September 2017
. Retrieved
8 October
2018
.