Hasnul Abdul Hadi

Hasnul bin Abdul Hadi (11 March 1927 – 30 April 1982) was a socialist politician and political detainee in Malaysia.

A leader of the Parti Rakyat Malaysia and Malayan Peoples' Socialist Front coalition, he was also elected as head of the municipal council of Malacca, before local council elections were abolished by the ruling Alliance party.

Biography He was born on 11 March 1927 to a distinguished intellectual family. His father Abdul Hadi Abdul Hassan was the author of three volume Sejarah Alam Melayu in the 1920s.

An older brother Rastam went on to serve as Petronas MD and Bank Negara deputy governor, while another older brother Abdul Hai was involved in the Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya led by Ibrahim Yaacob and Ishak Haji Muhammad, serving as secretary of the PKMM Melaka branch.

In 1978, his defamation case against Utusan Melayu (Bulat Mohamed & Anor) was heard in court and it was held that to call a person ‘Abu Jahal’ is defamatory.

Paralysed by a stroke in 1977, he died in 1982. A book of his writings called Mereka Yang Terbiar was released shortly before his death.

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