Top Moslem leader dies at 76

Top Moslem leader dies at 76

KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia (AFP): Mustapha Harun, a top Malaysian Moslem leader who a year ago sided with a Christian opposition party to thwart Premier Mahathir Mohamad's bid to control Sabah, died yesterday of a heart attack.

Mustapha, 76, will be buried according to his wishes beside his late wife -- Rahmah Zulkarnain, who died in 1991 -- in a Moslem cemetery, although as a former governor he should be laid to rest at the state mosque, his son Amirkahar said.

Mustapha, a colonial era administrator revered by many Sabahans, was Sabah's first governor when the state joined the Malaysian federation in 1963 after gaining independence from British rule.

He was also chief minister from 1967 through 1976 of the oil- and timber- rich state, during which he was accused by Mahathir of making attempts to take Sabah out of the Malaysian federation.