Cofounder of UMNO dies

Cofounder of UMNO dies

MALAYSIA: Sulaiman Ninam Shah, a founding member of Malaysia's ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO), has died of leukemia, news reports said on Sunday. He was 83.

Sulaiman helped establish UMNO in the 1940s and became the party's permanent chairman in 1975. Under the mostly ceremonial post, Sulaiman chaired the party's annual general assembly for 28 consecutive years.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad praised Sulaiman -- who died on Saturday at a hospital -- for devoting his life to UMNO, which represents Malaysia's ethnic Malay Muslim majority and has been the core of every government since the country's independence from Britain in 1957.

"He had a full life," Mahathir was quoted as saying by the Sunday Star newspaper. "He worked until his last days, practically. He is almost an institution in UMNO as the longest- serving permanent chairman."

Sulaiman, a policeman before he entered politics, was diagnosed with leukemia in April and his condition deteriorated rapidly. He is survived by his wife, nine children and 15 grandchildren. -- AP