KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 2 ― The late PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Haron Din was conferred a special Maal Hijrah award posthumously today by the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah, in recognition of his national and global contributions to Islam.

The prestigious award which comes with a RM100,000 cash prize and a certificate of appreciation was received by his eldest child, daughter Dr Huda Haron in a solemn ceremony held at the Agro Exposition Park in Serdang, Selangor.

Haron succeeded Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat who died of cancer in early 2015.

He was the deputy dean of the Islamic Studies Faculty at the National University of Malaysia and sat on the Shariah advisory panels of Bank Negara Malaysia, CIMB and the Securities Commission.

He was also appointed by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as chief of the missionary cluster under the federal Islamic Consultative Council last February.

The father of five died on September 16 aged 76 at the Stanford University Hospital in California, the US while undergoing treatment for a heart problem.

He is buried at a Muslim cemetery in San Francisco, according to his own wishes.