Former Education D-G Murad Dies

Al-Fatihah
Former director- general of education Tan Sri Murad Mohamed Noor died here tonight. He was 78.

The former educationist died at 9.15pm at the Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre in Jalan Ampang here where he was admitted two weeks ago for a lung infection.

His family members were at his bedside when he passed away, said Murad's younger brother Tan Sri Marzuki Mohamed Noor.

He said Murad was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) yesterday and was conscious up to 8pm tonight.

Marzuki told reporters Murad's remains would be brought to his house in Damansara Heights tonight and then taken to Penang to be buried next to his mother's grave in Penaga, Seberang Perai Utara.

The late Murad, the eldest of seven siblings, was born in Penaga. He leaves a wife, Puan Sri Azizah Aiyub Ghazali, and four children.

Murad was the director-general of education from 1976 to 1985.

As the director of education planning and research before that, he had spearheaded a study on the problems of school dropouts and highlighted ways to address the problem in the famous Murad Report of 1973.

Murad, who was also chairman of the board of directors of Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), had received a special award for leadership in education in 2004 at the national-level Teachers' Day celebration.

One of his many contributions in the field of education was the New Primary School Curriculum (KBSR) in 1983 which emphasised the three R's of reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic.

He was also responsible for the taking over of religious schools and turning them into national schools.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, in expressing his condolences to the family, described Murad's death as a big loss to the field of education.

"My condolences to the family of the late Murad," he said at the Royal Malaysia Air Force (RMAF) base here before leaving for Davos, Switzerland, to attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. (Bernama)

***** A rare breed of man indeed. It's a pity that we don't have enough Murads in our country. If we did we would be right there at the very top, among the world's finest nations.

Earlier posts:
1) Tan Sri Murad Mohammed Noor - Penawar For The Nation.
2) Let the Teachers Teach.

From Bernama: Murad The Quintessential Malaysian