Abdul Aziz Bari

Dr. Abdul Aziz Bari is a Malaysian politician and academic of Malay ethnicity. He is the incumbent Member of the Perak State Legislative Assembly for the constituency of Tebing Tinggi since 2018 and Opposition Leader of Perak since 2020. Prior to that he served as the Member of the Perak State Executive Council (EXCO) for Education, Environment, Green Technology and Information under Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu from 2018 to 2020. He is a member of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.[1]

In this Malay name, the name Bari is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Abdul Aziz.
Yang Berhormat Dr.

Abdul Aziz Bari

MLA
Dr. Abdul Aziz Bari
Perak State Executive Councillor for Education, Science, Environment, Green Technology and Information
In office
19 May 2018 – 10 March 2020
MonarchNazrin Shah
Menteri BesarAhmad Faizal Azumu
Preceded byMuhammad Amin Zakaria (Education, Science, Environment and Green Technology)
Saarani Mohamad (Information)
Succeeded byRazman Zakaria (Education)
Ahmad Saidi Mohamad Daud (Science, Environment and Green Technology)
Mohd Akmal Kamaruddin (Information)
ConstituencyTebing Tinggi
Member of the Perak State Legislative Assembly
for Tebing Tinggi
Assumed office
10 May 2018
Preceded byOng Boon Piow (DAP–PH)
Majority3,927 (2018)
Personal details
Born
Abdul Aziz bin Bari

(1959-08-22) 22 August 1959
Sabak Bernam, Selangor, Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia)
NationalityMalaysian
Political partyDAP–Pakatan Harapan
(2015–present)
PKR–Pakatan Rakyat
(2013–2015)
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionProfessor and Lecturer
WebsiteAbdul Aziz Bari on Facebook

Background

Aziz was born in Sabak Bernam[2] and resides in Bandar Baru Selayang, Selangor.[3]

Professional career

Aziz is a former member of academia and lecturer in the field of law. He served in the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) as well as University of Selangor (UNISEL).[4] He is notable in Malaysian monarchy and constitutional law.[5]

Whilst serving as a lecturer in IIUM he was suspended[6] for his observations on statements of the Sultan of Selangor in a much controversial publicised action by Muslim religious authorities against a Methodist Church for proselytization.[7] He was also a subject of investigation by authorities when he commented on the appointment of the Selangor Chief Minister being a prerogative of the Sultan of Selangor[8] whilst still serving as a lecturer in UNISEL.

Politics

Aziz for the first time stood in the 2013 general election (GE13) as People's Justice Party (PKR) candidate for the Sabak Bernam parliamentary seat contesting against Mohd Fasiah Fakeh from United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) of Barisan Nasional (BN). He lost by 1644 votes from the 31,697 polled.[9][10][11]

He subsequently revived his political ambitions by joining the Democratic Action Party (DAP) in 2015.[12] He stood as a candidate in the Perak state assembly seat of Tebing Tinggi[13][14] in the 2018 general election (GE14). He won the seat against Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA)'s Khoo Boon Chuan and Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS)'s Mazlan Md Isa with a majority of 3927 votes against the closest challenger Khoo.[15]

Aziz was appointed as the EXCO Chairman for Education, Environment, Green Technology & Information in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) new state government until its collapse due to the political crisis in 2020.[16] On 9 May 2020, he was chosen as the new Opposition Leader of Perak.[17]

Controversies and issues

Views and observations

Aziz is often quoted based on his knowledge of the law, but he has also been known to give his personal opinion on matters,[18] including quotes that often put him at odds with religious movements and leaders.[19] In the leadup to the GE14, he publicly stated that PAS should not even dream of being in government.[20] In 2015, he commented that the Crown Prince of Johor, Tunku Ismail Idris should be investigated on charges of sedition, responding to social media posting by the Crown Prince on Johor's right to separate from Malaysia.[21]

None was as controversial as his earlier comments in 2011, when he commented on the Sultan of Selangor's defense of Muslim religious officials raiding a Methodist church. That resulted in his suspension as a law lecturer in IIUM, and then reinstatement upon widespread protests by students. However, he subsequently chose to resign from his position at IIUM.[22]

His outspoken views also often put him in trouble with the law, and he was probed further for illegal assembly in 2014[23] as well as a sedition probe.[24] His comments on the right to criticise the monarchy remain one of his most controversial statements.[25]

Suspension from work

On 20 October 2011, Aziz was issued a show cause letter by IIUM and suspended from work[26] 'to facilitate investigations' as announced by the rector of IIUM, Zaleha Kamaruddin. She also clarified that his suspension was not without pay, and his rights to associate himself with the faculty remained open despite rumours against it. In the course of his suspension, other politicians clamoured for his resignation, including Member of Parliament (MP) of Kulim-Bandar Baharu, Zulkifli Noordin, which resulted in a lawsuit against the MP and the Malay newspaper Utusan Malaysia by Aziz.[27]

His main contention and comments that under the Sedition Act 1948 saying that the rights in the constitution allows anyone to criticize the monarchy, and that the right cannot be denied.[28]

Sedition probe

While lecturing in UNISEL, Aziz was probed for sedition arising from an online newsportal report Sultan Selangor terikat Deklarasi 1992, perlu lantik Wan Azizah, kata Aziz Bari and Only God, not Sultan, has absolute powers.[29] This resulted in almost 100 police reports made against Aziz, and he was then investigated by the police. He responded by remaining silent during investigations.[30]

Vote of no confidence against Menteri Besar of Perak (purported)

This purportedly arose from underlying currents in the 14th State Assembly sitting of the Perak Legislative Assembly, which Kota Tampan State Assemblyman Saarani Mohamad referred to when he made a statement to the media that the MB of the seating Ahmad Faizal Azumu would face a vote of no confidence led by State EXCO member Aziz Bari.[31] MP of Batu Gajah V. Sivakumar, in a response to the initial media statement, lodged a police report citing the Malaysian Penal Code at the Dang Wangi Police Station.[32] Other responses included one from fellow Perak State EXCO member A.Sivanesan who claimed that UMNO was 'daydreaming'.[33] With one day to the end of the 4th meeting of the 14th session of the state assembly, Aziz denied the claims by stating that he would never have achieved anything, citing only getting 18 votes of support from his party, whereas as claimed, another further five from UMNO and would still be short seven votes.[31] The talk of the purported vote of no confidence first emerged in mid-August when State Public Accounts Committee Chairman Abdul Yunus Jamhari publicly stated that it was mere speculation by the opposition.[34]

Election results
Perak State Legislative Assembly: N26 Tebing Tinggi[35][36][37]
Year Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2018 Abdul Aziz Bari (DAP) 10,334 39.70% Khoo Boon Chuan (MCA) 6,407 24.60% 21,094 3,927 81.00%
Mazlan Md Isa (PAS) 3,931 15.10%
Parliament of Malaysia: P92 Sabak Bernam, Selangor[35][38]
Year Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2013 Abdul Aziz Bari (PKR) 14,620 46.96% Mohd Fasiah Mohd Fakeh (UMNO) 16,510 53.04% 31,859 1,890 85.37%
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References
  1. "DAP law expert: Forming Perak govt a political issue". The Star Online. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  2. "GE13: Former teachers and retired lecturer for Sabak Bernam and Sungai Besar seats - Community | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  3. "IIUM don gets bullet and death threat for remarks on Ruler - Nation | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  4. "Law professor probed under assembly law over 2014 UIA gathering | Malay Mail". Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  5. Abdul Aziz Bari (2013). The monarchy and the constitution in Malaysia. ISBN 9789671009451. OCLC 845081999.
  6. "Students stage demonstration against IIUM don's suspension - Nation | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  7. "'Don't politicise Jais church raid' - Nation | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  8. "Latest academic targeted in sedition dragnet says unfazed by coming probe | Malay Mail". Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  9. "Aziz Bari Bertanding Di Sabak Bernam Atas Tiket PKR". Archived from the original on 2014-02-01. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  10. "undi.info - Sabak Bernam - P92 | Malaysiakini". undi.info - Sabak Bernam - P92. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  11. "Aziz Bari bertanding satu lawan satu di Sabak Bernam". Archived from the original on 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  12. "Aziz Bari joins DAP - Nation | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  13. "DAP proposes record 10 Malay candidates for GE14". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  14. "Ipoh Timur's Khoo to face Abdul Aziz in Tebing Tinggi - Nation | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  15. "undi.info - Tebing Tinggi (P64-N26) | Malaysiakini". undi.info - Tebing Tinggi (P64-N26). Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  16. "Perak state exco sworn in - Nation | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  17. "DAP's Aziz Bari appointed Perak Opposition leader". Malay Nail. 9 May 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  18. "Aziz Bari: Dr M can't say he acted on police advice - Nation | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  19. "Fairuz's interpretation of Islamic law 'weird', says law expert". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  20. "Don't dream of forming government, PAS told | Daily Express Newspaper Online". Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  21. "No princes should be exempted from Sedition Act, says Aziz Bari | Astro Awani". english.astroawani.com. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  22. Censorship, Index on (2011-12-21). "Malaysian professor resigns after threatened for criticising monarchy - Index on Censorship Index on Censorship". www.indexoncensorship.org. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  23. "Law professor probed under assembly law over 2014 UIA gathering | Malay Mail". Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  24. "Sassy MP » Blog Archive » Bukit Aman summons constitutional law expert Aziz Bari over 2014 sedition probe". teresakok.com. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  25. "Aziz Bari: Tidak salah kritik Raja-raja". Malaysiakini (in Malay). 2011-10-12. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  26. "Prof Aziz suspension to facilitate investigation – IIUM Rector". BtuWeekly. 2011-10-21. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  27. "Former UIA don sues MP and paper over slander allegations - Nation | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  28. "Curbing insults to Malay royalty". www.asiaone.com. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  29. "Academician Aziz Bari to be probed under Sedition Act | Astro Awani". english.astroawani.com. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  30. "Aziz Bari opts to remain silent in sedition probe". The Edge Markets. 2014-10-01. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  31. "Abdul Aziz Bari: I'm not out to oust Perak MB - Nation | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 2018-12-04.
  32. "Pakatan MP urges cops to probe rumours of plot against Perak MB | Malay Mail". Retrieved 2018-12-04.
  33. "Umno daydreaming about no-confidence vote against Perak MB, says exco man". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 2018-12-04.
  34. "BERNAMA.com - No confidence vote against Perak MB claim mere speculation - Exco". www.bernama.com. Retrieved 2018-12-04.
  35. "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Results only available from the 2004 election.
  36. "SEMAKAN KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM KE - 14" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 17 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  37. "The Star Online GE14". The Star. Retrieved 24 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  38. "KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM 13". Sistem Pengurusan Maklumat Pilihan Raya Umum (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 5 May 2013. Results only available for the 2013 election.
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