Minister of Culture, Arts and Tourism

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has appointed Abdul Kadir as the full minister of Culture, Arts and Tourism in 1999. He is also the Chairman of the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board (1999).

Minister of Information

In 2004, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has appointed Abdul Kadir as Information Minister, replacing Datuk Mohd Khalil Yaakob.

On 1 April 2005, Radio 6 was re-branded as Minnal FM and inaugurated by Abdul Kadir as the Minister of Information. On 12 November, the 24-hour Kedah FM broadcast, a brainchild of Abdul Kadir was then launched by the Sultan of Kedah. Jia Yu's channel was officiated by Abdul Kadir as Information Minister on 17 November 2005. 70% of imported content from China and Hong Kong is controlled by Cosmos Discovery.

Abdul Kadir has resigned as Information Minister on 14 February 2006.^[2] After his resignation in 2006 from cabinet, Datuk Zainuddin Maidin became Information Minister.

Social and NGO activities

Abdul Kadir is a friendly, tested and active person in unity. Among them was the Secretary-General of the Afro-Asian People's Organization (Malaysia), Chairman of the Sultan Badlishah Secondary School Students Association, Federal Territory / Selangor Branch and Patron, Kulim District Orphanage Board of Orphanages.

He was one of the leaders of Barisan Nasional (BN) veterans who had formed Angkatan Amanah Merdeka (Amanah) or Independence Trust Forces, a Malaysian Non-Government Organisation (NGO), founded and launched by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah on 22 July 2011. Abdul Kadir had become the deputy president of the NGO that was alleged to have political motive.^[3][4] As the Amanah is just an NGO, there are some demands for it to change to become a political party and join the opposition in the coming general election.^[5]

Exit from UMNO

On 19 March 2012, Abdul Kadir had made an announcement leaving the party of UMNO after being with the party for more than 56 years. According to Dr Raja Ahmad Al-Hiss, the deputy head of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) Youth Council vice-chairman, Abdul Kadir's action also gives a clear picture that there is something wrong with UMNO's struggle.^[6]

In the same development, PAS described Abdul Kadir as a UMNO veteran to step out of the party as a blow to UMNO president Najib Razak himself. PAS vice-president, Mahfuz Omar said Abdul Kadir's action was to redeem the honor of the BN-led state. Mahfuz believes that Abdul Kadir's actions are a blow to Najib who recently said that the people should not try to impose the future of the country to support the opposition. Mahfuz had also congratulated Abdul Kadir on his decision to make the right decision, and said that the cardiac arrest was a 'signal' to the public to reject UMNO.^[7]

"I congratulate him for his boldness and this is a decision for the future of our country. It is in line with what Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah once said that UMNO's defeat in the coming elections is good for the country."

Forming Parti Ikatan Bangsa Malaysia (IKATAN)

Abdul Kadir formed Parti Ikatan Bangsa Malaysia (IKATAN) or transl. Malaysia National Alliance Party on 7 June 2012 along with a few former UMNO members.^[8][9][10] After the IKATAN was forced to wait for more than two years for approval, Abdul Kadir dragged the Registrar of Societies (RoS) to High Court in February 2013 for them to approve the party.^[11] The party was approved on 15 May 2015 with Abdul Kadir as the first president.^[12] IKATAN and Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) later formed an informal Third Force political alliances on 16 March 2016,^[13] which was called Gagasan Sejahtera (GS) on 13 August 2016.^{[14][15][16][17]}

Honours of Malaysia

•  Malaysia :
  • Member of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (AMN) (1992)
  • Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM) – Tan Sri (2007)^[21][22]
•  Kedah :
  • Knight Companion of the Order of Loyalty to the Royal House of Kedah (DSDK) – Dato' (1986)^[21]
  • Knight Commander of the Order of Loyalty to Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah (DHMS) – Dato' Paduka (2002)^[21]
•  Kelantan :
  • Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Life of the Crown of Kelantan (SJMK) – Dato' (2003)^[21]
•  Malacca :
  • Grand Commander of the Exalted Order of Malacca (DGSM) – Datuk Seri (2004)^[21]
•  Pahang :
  • Grand Knight of the Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang (SSAP) – Dato' Sri (2004)^[21]
•  Sabah :
  • Commander of the Order of Kinabalu (PGDK) – Datuk (1995)^[21]
  • Grand Commander of the Order of Kinabalu (SPDK) – Datuk Seri Panglima (2005)^[21]

Awards and honours

• He was also awarded the 'Best Tourism Personality for 2001' by the Pacific Regional Tourism Author Association (PATWA) in Berlin.