PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) spiritual leader Datuk Dr Haron Din passed away on Friday morning (Sept 16) after he slipped into a coma due to heart complications. He was 76.

In a statement, PAS information chief Nasrudin Hassan said the veteran leader had passed away at Stanford Hospital, San Francisco, where he was seeking treatment.

Dr Haron had undergone a heart bypass surgery in the Stanford Hospital on Apr 2, 2012.

Last March, he underwent a heart treatment at the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur.

Dr Haron was born in Simpang Empat, Perlis. He replaced Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat as the party's spiritual leader in March last year ( 2015).

He joined PAS in 1974 and became a central committee member from 1975 to 1985, and later as central committee chief in the PAS' Dewan Ulama.

Dr Haron contested in three general elections in the Arau parliamentary seat, but lost in all three.

In the 2013 General Election, he lost by 1,371 votes to Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim.

He founded the Pusat Rawatan Islam Darussyifa in Bangi, Selangor.

Dr Haron leaves behind wife Datin Khadijah Salleh and five children.