PETALING JAYA: A former PKR senator has been appointed as the chairman of the government-supported Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (Ikim).
Nur Manuty, 74, replaces Prof Kamal Hassan who died on Feb 23, Bernama reported.
His appointment was made by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, a statement from Ikim director-general Azam Adil said.
Nur is a former president of the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (Abim), which was founded by Anwar in 1971, and has been active in PKR, which he joined after Anwar was sacked as deputy prime minister in 1998.
He was appointed as the party’s information chief in 2010 and is the current chairman of PKR’s religious bureau. He has twice contested in general elections but lost by a slim margin in Larut and Bagan Serai in 1999 and 2013.
He was appointed a senator for Selangor in 2015.