Burhanuddin al-Helmy

Burhanuddin al-Helmy was born in Kota Bharu, Perak in 1911. His father, Muhammad Nur came from West Sumatra, while his mother from Malacca and he studied at India's Aligarh Muslim University. After his return from India, he taught Arabic at Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah, Aljunied, Singapore. During his time in Singapore, he was arrested by the British, but was bailed out after one night by a member of the Alsagoff family. After World War II, Burhanuddin set up the Malay Nationalist Party. The party advocated Malay rights and proposed a "political union" with Indonesia. Burhanuddin assumed the presidency of PAS in 1956, and held the post until his death in 1969. He won the Besut parliamentary seat in the 1959 elections. PAS had a left-wing orientation under Burhanuddin's leadership: he supported trade unions and anti-colonialism. He has been described as a "radical nationalist and Islamic thinker". His presidency was interrupted by his arrest under the Internal Security Act in 1965 and subsequent imprisonment for one year on charges of plotting to overthrow the Malaysian government and install an Indonesian-friendly replacement. He died of a heart attack in Taiping, Perak on 25 October 1969. He was buried in Taiping. He was married to Suri Yahya and had no children. He was awarded the Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Perak State Crown in 2015. Several places were named after him, including Jalan Burhanuddin Helmy and Persiaran Burhanuddin Helmy in Kuala Lumpur, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Doktor Burhanuddin in Taiping, Sekolah Rendah Islam Burhanuddin Al-Helmy in Alor Setar, and Kolej Burhanuddin Helmy, one of the residential college in National University of Malaysia.