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