Saifuddin Abdullah
Dato' Saifuddin bin Abdullah (Jawi: سيف الدين بن عبدالله; born 27 January 1961) is a Malaysian politician and Minister of Communications and Multimedia and the Member of Parliament for Indera Mahkota. He is also a member of the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition. Previously, he was the Member of Parliament of Malaysia for the Temerloh constituency in Pahang from 2008 to 2013 representing United Malay National Organisation (UMNO), the leading party in the then-ruling coalition of Barisan Nasional (BN).
Yang Berhormat Dato' Saifuddin Abdullah | |
---|---|
سيف الدين عبدالله | |
Abdullah in August 2018 | |
Minister of Communications and Multimedia | |
Assumed office 10 March 2020 | |
Monarch | Abdullah |
Prime Minister | Muhyiddin Yassin |
Deputy | Zahidi Zainul Abidin |
Preceded by | Gobind Singh Deo |
Constituency | Indera Mahkota |
Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
In office 2 July 2018 – 24 February 2020 | |
Monarch | Muhammad V Abdullah |
Prime Minister | Mahathir Mohamad |
Deputy | Marzuki Yahya |
Preceded by | Anifah Aman |
Succeeded by | Hishammuddin Hussein |
Constituency | Indera Mahkota |
Deputy Minister of Higher Education II | |
In office 10 April 2009 – 15 May 2013 | |
Monarch | Mizan Zainal Abidin Abdul Halim |
Prime Minister | Najib Razak |
Minister | Mohamed Khaled Nordin |
Preceded by | Idris Haron |
Succeeded by | Mary Yap Kain Ching as Deputy Minister of Education |
Constituency | Temerloh |
Deputy Minister of Entrepreneur and Co-operatives Development | |
In office 19 March 2008 – 9 April 2009 | |
Monarch | Mizan Zainal Abidin |
Prime Minister | Abdullah Ahmad Badawi |
Minister | Noh Omar |
Preceded by | Khamsiyah Yeop |
Succeeded by | Tan Lian Hoe as Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism |
Constituency | Temerloh |
Chief Secretary of Pakatan Harapan | |
In office 19 October 2015 – 24 February 2020 | |
President | Wan Azizah Wan Ismail |
Leader | Anwar Ibrahim |
Chairman | Mahathir Mohamad |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Saifuddin Nasution Ismail |
Constituency | Indera Mahkota |
Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Indera Mahkota | |
Assumed office 9 May 2018 | |
Preceded by | Fauzi Abdul Rahman (PKR) |
Majority | 10,950 (2018) |
Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Temerloh | |
In office 8 March 2008 – 5 May 2013 | |
Preceded by | Mohd Sarit Yusoh (UMNO–BN) |
Succeeded by | Nasrudin Hassan (PAS) |
Majority | 2,441 (2008) |
Personal details | |
Born | Saifuddin bin Abdullah 27 January 1961 Kampung Sungai Ara, Mentakab, Pahang, Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) |
Political party | United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) (until 2015) People's Justice Party (PKR) (2015-2020) Malaysian United Indigenous Party (PPBM) (since 2020) |
Other political affiliations | Barisan Nasional (BN) Pakatan Harapan (PH) Perikatan Nasional (PN) |
Spouse(s) | Datin Norlin Shamsul Bahri |
Children | 1 |
Alma mater | University of Malaya |
Occupation | Politician |
Website | www |
Personal life
Saifuddin was born to an ustaz father and a schoolteacher mother in Temerloh near Mentakab, Pahang.[1]
Education
Saifuddin was educated at Sekolah Kebangsaan Abu Bakar Mentakab (1968–73), Malay College Kuala Kangsar - MCKK (1974–80), obtained BA Honors from University of Malaya (1984), Diploma in Translation from Malaysian Translator Association / Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (1985) and followed by the Executive Course at Harvard Business School (1995).
Political career
Saifuddin was elected to Parliament in the 2008 election,[2] and was immediately appointed as a deputy minister,[3] being cited as a future ministerial prospect.[4] He had previously been the Secretary-General of the Malaysian Youth Council.[5] After the election he was appointed as a deputy minister, and was the Deputy Minister of Higher Education in Najib Razak's first term as Prime Minister. During his ministerial tenure, Saifuddin was one of the more moderate and liberal-progressive politicians in Najib's administration.[6][7] He criticised his own government's handling of the Bersih 2.0 rally in 2011, in which over 1,600 protestors were arrested on the streets of Kuala Lumpur.[8] In early 2013, he also stood up for a student who was humiliated by a government-linked panellist at a student forum at the Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM).[9]
Saifuddin's ministerial career was cut short by the 2013 election, when he lost his parliamentary seat to a Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) candidate by 1,070 votes.
Saifuddin has written four books on Malaysian politics.[10] After leaving Parliament he joined the University of Malaya as a research fellow, but in 2014, he resigned his position in protest when Malaysia's Education Ministry forced a well-respected professor at the university to resign, reportedly due to research findings critical of the government.[11][12]
In 2015, Saifuddin quit UMNO and joined the People's Justice Party (PKR) over disagreements with the government's handling of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal.[13][14]
In February 2020, Saifuddin quit PKR along with deputy president Azmin Ali and 9 other MP's to form an independent parliamentary block.[15]
Election results
Year | Constituency | Government | Votes | Pct | Opposition | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast |
Majority | Turnout | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | P088 Temerloh, Pahang | Saifuddin Abdullah (UMNO) | 21,381 | 53.03% | Ahmad Nizam Hamid (PKR) | 18,940 | 46.97% | 41,463 | 2,441 | 76.77% | ||
2013 | Saifuddin Abdullah (UMNO) | 27,197 | 49.04% | Nasrudin Hassan (PAS) | 28,267 | 50.96% | 56,595 | 1,070 | 85.61% | |||
2018 | P082 Indera Mahkota, Pahang | Saifuddin Abdullah (PKR) | 28,578 | 44.85% | Johan Mat Sah (UMNO) | 17,628 | 27.66% | 64,612 | 10,950 | 83.70% | ||
Nasrudin Hassan (PAS) | 17,515 | 27.49% |
Honours
Pahang : Knight Companion of the Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang (DSAP) - Dato' (2009)[21][22]
Perak : Knight Commander of the Order of the Perak State Crown (DPMP) - Dato' (2002)[21]
References
- Interview by Abdul Qayyum Jumadi; Photos by Lyn Ong. "Where I'm Coming From: Saifuddin Abdullah". POPfolio network : Poskod.MY. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- "Malaysia Decides 2008". The Star. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
- Khoo, Simon (25 March 2008). "Signs for Pahang to buck up". The Star. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
- Koshy, Shaila (8 January 2009). "Zaid: Future looks bright although Malaysia faces a lot of problems". The Star. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
- Ahmad, Abdul Razak (21 April 2000). "Matin tasked with monitoring religious activities". New Straits Times. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
- Chi, Melissa (23 May 2014). "10 things about Saifuddin Abdullah, moderation poster boy". The Malay Mail. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
- Ng, Eileen (5 May 2014). "After GE13, some relegated to political wilderness". The Malaysian Insider. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
- Teoh, Shannon (5 November 2011). "Umno deputy minister says Putrajaya will lose moral ground with UUCA appeal". The Malaysian Insider. Archived from the original on 6 November 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
- "Netizens give "listen, listen" UUM speaker an earful". The Star. 15 January 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
- "Calling for a new breed of politicians". Malaysia Today. 16 March 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
- Awani, Astro (30 June 2014). "Saifuddin quits UM post in solidarity with UMcedel director". Astro Awani. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
- Suganya, L. (29 June 2014). "Saifuddin quits as UM fellow in solidarity with dismissed Prof Redzuan". The Star. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
- Ng, Eileen (15 October 2015). "I left Umno over 1MDB, RM2.6 billion, says Saifuddin". The Malaysian Insider. Archived from the original on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- "Saifuddin gives his reasons for leaving Umno". The Star. 25 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- "Azmin quits PKR, takes 10 other MPs with him". Malaysiakini. 24 February 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
- "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
- "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Results only available from the 2004 election.
- "KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM 13". Sistem Pengurusan Maklumat Pilihan Raya Umum (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- "my undi : Kawasan & Calon-Calon PRU13 : Keputusan PRU13 (Archived copy)". www.myundi.com.my. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
- "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13". Utusan Malaysia. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- "SEMAKAN PENERIMA DARJAH KEBESARAN, BINTANG DAN PINGAT". Prime Minister's Department (Malaysia). Retrieved 24 October 2018.
- "1,114 to receive Pahang honours". The Star. 24 October 2009. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
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