Late Haron Din conferred Maal Hijrah special award

The late PAS Spiritual Leader, Datuk Dr Haron Din was posthumously conferred the Maal Hijrah Special Award while Chief Justice Tun Dr Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim was picked as national Maal Hijrah figure at the national level 1438H Maal Hijrah celebration.

Haron was selected to receive the special award this time in recognition of his contributions in upholding Islam at national and global levels.

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah handed over the award in the form of RM100,000 and a certificate of appreciation to his eldest child, Dr Huda Haron at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang here.

On Sept 16, Haron passed away at the Stanford Hospital, San Francisco in the United States of America due to heart complications.

Tuanku Abdul Halim also handed over an award in the form of RM100,000 and a certificate of appreciation to Ahmad Fairuz.

Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Hajah Haminah was also present at the ceremony which was themed, 'Brotherhood is Basis Of Islamic Unity'.

Also present were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, his deputy, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom and Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.

Ahmad Fairuz, when met by reporters, said he wanted to see more national laws which were inconsistent with Islam, to be in line with Islamic teachings from time to time.

He said among laws that could be reconciled with Islamic teachings were commercial and business laws.

"Malaysia is already successful with Islamic Banking whereby, almost 70 percent of its clients comprise non-Muslims.

"When Malaysia is successful in introducing Islamic banking, it is also spreading the greatness of Islam," he added.

Meanwhile, Dr Huda, when met by reporters, regarded the award as very meaningful to her family.

"Other than being very meaningful to our family, this award is also very significant to all his students. As such, I am thankful to the government," she said. -- Bernama