Apart from his career in politics, Harun Idris was heavily involved in sports particularly organising the Muhammad Ali vs Joe Bugner fight in Kuala Lumpur as well as overseeing Malaysia and Selangor football teams' most successful periods.
15 Facts About Harun Idris
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Harun Idris is widely acknowledged to be responsible for unearthing some of Malaysia's best talents such as Santokh Singh, Soh Chin Ann and even the late Mokhtar Dahari.
3.
Harun Idris was born in Petaling, Selangor on 21 July 1925.
4.
Harun Idris was one of the founders of the Selangor Malays Union, and joined UMNO in 1949.
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When Malaya gained her independence in 1957, Dato Harun Idris was made a Deputy Public Prosecutor and was later the Acting Registrar of Societies and the Official Assignee of the Federation of Malaya.
6.
In March 1964, having won the State Assembly seat for Morib, Selangor, Dato' Seri Harun Idris was elected to the UMNO Supreme Council and served as Selangor Umno liaison chief from 1964 to 1976.
7.
From 1964 to 1976, Dato' Seri Harun Idris was appointed the eighth Chief Minister of Selangor, after Dato' Abu Bakar Baginda and he was the longest serving Chief Minister of Selangor, holding office for exactly 12 years, until his resignation in April 1976.
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Harun Idris was then expelled from UMNO and charged with corruption by the government, due to his abuse of state funds.
9.
Harun Idris, who was perceived as a proponent of ketuanan Melayu, had seen UMNO suffer several losses in the Selangor State Assembly during the 1969 general election.
10.
The first victims of the riots were two Chinese that were in a van opposite Harun Idris' house watching the large gathering.
11.
Chee Khoon concludes the article by writing "I have related this story not with the idea of reviving an old controversy but to show that Datuk Harun Idris was not out for the blood of Chinese in those days of tragedy as claimed in some quarters".
12.
Harun Idris served as Kuala Langat Umno Division Chief for 3 years until 1984.
13.
Dato' Seri Harun Idris served as a council member of the Selangor Royal Council from 1994 until his demise.
14.
Harun Idris served as Semangat 46 Supreme Council member and Selangor Chief for a brief period from 1987 to 1990.
15.
Dato' Seri Harun Idris died after a short illness on 19 October 2003 at the age of 77 and is survived by his wife Datin Seri Salmah Sulaiman, three sons, three daughters, 18 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren.