DATUK Dr Haron Din knew he was taking an immense risk when he left for the United States for medical treatment.
But his health had deteriorated greatly over the last one year; he had problems breathing, his doctors told him that only 10% of his heart was functioning and there would be a small oxygen tank on standby wherever he went.
The PAS Mursyidul Am has had a long history of heart problems and his reasoning was that his condition was so bad that he really had nothing to lose by undergoing another risky procedure.
He had taken a similar risk at the Stanford University Hospital in San Francisco several years ago and returned with a new lease on life.
He attended the PAS muktamar not long after the earlier surgery and when asked about his health, he replied with a beatific smile: “I feel healthy and I can also preach better now.”
But it was different this time around and at around 10am yesterday, the PAS leader finally lost the fight. He passed away in the San Francisco hospital after slipping into a coma.
News of his death has deeply affected those in PAS as well as his many friends and fans outside the party.
Dr Haron, 76, was not only one of the most influential religious figures in PAS, he was a noted Islamic speaker and a famous faith healer who helped many people overcome problems that doctors had no answer for.
His admirers have ranged from ordinary folk to millionaires and, once, when asked about the expensive cars parked under the porch of his green-roofed Bangi house, he said they were gifts from some of his patients.
By patients, he meant those who had sought his help at the Darussyifa centre where he conducted his healing sessions together with a highly organised team of volunteers. And it is all done for free.
The bulk of patients who pass through Darussyifa suffer from health ailments and there were also many cases of supernatural possession.
In fact it was this special God-given skills for healing that made him a household name in the Malay community. He was the man they turned to for help when all else failed.
He was the third-born of 10 siblings from a small village in Perlis but he was the only one who inherited his father’s gift for faith-healing.
His assistants at Darussyifa often stress that he was not into spells or charms and that he only used Islamic teachings and religious verses to help people.
For many years, this more dramatic side of his career was more famous than his intellectual side as an Islamic preacher.
His academic bent was apparent from early on in his childhood. He went from the madrasah in his kampung to the famous Islamic college in Klang before heading for the prestigious Al-Azhar University. He read his PhD in Syariah at the University of Cairo, after which he returned to lecture at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
According to PAS election director Datuk Mustafa Ali, Dr Haron was looked up to as an equal to Datuk Seri Hadi Awang in terms of Islamic knowledge.
His journey in PAS began in the 1980s shortly after the ulama took control of the party but there was something rather utopian about the way he viewed society that made him less than suitable for the rough and tumble world of politics.
He contested several general elections in Perlis but lost each time. He was part of the PAS strategy to establish a green crescent across the Malay heartland states of Terengganu, Kelantan, Perlis and Kedah. His last attempt was in 2013 and the man who stopped him was Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim.
Dr Haron’s politics was not the radical sort. He is seen as a moderate Muslim and it explains why his religious talks attract people from across the political divide.
“It is always full house whenever he gives religious talks because his following goes beyond the PAS crowd,” said Roslan Shahir, a PAS politician from Selangor.
Roslan was at the talk that Dr Haron gave at the mosque in Bukit Jelutong about a month ago. It was packed and Dr Haron spoke in his trademark soft-spoken style that was whisper-like yet could be heard clearly through the hall.
The only hint that he was unwell was that he did not mingle after the talk and was immediately whisked away by his aides.
Former PAS deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa and his wife dropped by Dr Haron’s house the night before his departure to the United States.
A frail but cheerful Dr Haron told his visitors that he had returned to Perlis before Hari Raya Haji to say goodbye to his relatives in his childhood kampung. It was there that he indicated that if anything happened to him in the United States, he wanted to strictly observe the Islamic practice of being buried where one dies.
The Federal Government had authorised a special jet to transport his body home for burial and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had personally conveyed it to the family.
The Haron family indicated that it was a difficult decision to make but their father had reminded them not once but several times of his wish and they had to respect his last wish.
Dr Haron leaves behind wife Datin Khadijah Salleh, five children and many grandchildren.
There is a video circulating of Dr Haron standing at the doorway of his house as he was about to leave for KLIA. The small group who had gathered to send him off were holding their hands up in prayer and the voice reciting the prayer could be heard growing more emotional as they prayed for his safe return.
It is quite a moving scene especially given that he will not be coming home again.- Joceline Tan
joceline@thestar.com.my
