Zahrain Mohamed Hashim

Datuk Seri Zahrain bin Mohamed Hashim (born 12 November 1955) is a Malaysian politician from the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) who served as Ambassador of Malaysia to Indonesia between 2013 and 2018. Prior to that, he was Member of Parliament (MP) of Malaysia from 2008 to 2013 representing Bayan Baru constituency in Penang, Malaysia.

Yang Berbahagia Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohamed Hashim DGPN
Ambassador of Malaysia to Indonesia
In office 2013 – 30 June 2018
Monarch	Abdul Halim Muhammad V
Prime Minister	Najib Razak
Preceded by	Syed Munshe Afdzaruddin Syed Hassan
Succeeded by	Zainal Abidin Bakar
Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Bayan Baru
In office 2008–2013
Preceded by	Wong Kam Hoong (MCA-BN)
Succeeded by	Sim Tze Tzin (PKR-PR)
Majority	11,029 (2008)
Personal details
Born	(1955-11-12) 12 November 1955 Penang, Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia)
Political party	People's Justice Party (Malaysia) (PKR) (until 2010) Independent (2010-present)
Occupation	Politician

Political career

Zahrain was elected to Parliament in the 2008 election as a member of the opposition People's Justice Party (PKR).[1] As Chairman of the Penang division of PKR, he had been criticised by his Pakatan Rakyat coalition partner, the Democratic Action Party, for speaking out against Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.[2] In January 2010, he attacked Lim as being a "dictator, a chauvinist and communist-minded", citing what Zahrain saw as a failure by Lim to deliver on his election promises.[3] He subsequently left PKR to sit in Parliament as an independent.

Diplomatic career

After leaving Parliament following the 2013 general elections, Zahrain was appointed as the Malaysia Ambassador to Indonesia.[4]

Zahrain was recalled from his posting following the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government's decision to stop the previous practice adopted by the Barisan Nasional (BN) of appointing politicians to head overseas missions.[5][6]

Election results

Parliament of Malaysia: P52 Bayan Baru, Penang[7][8][9]

Year	Opposition		Votes	Pct	Government		Votes	Pct
2008		Zahrain Mohamed Hashim (PKR)	27,618	59%		Ooi Siew Kim (MCA)	16,589	36%

Honours

•  Penang :
  • Officer of the Order of the Defender of State (DSPN) - Datuk (1995)[10]
  • Commander of the Order of the Defender of State (DGPN) - Datuk Seri (2009)[10]

See also

• Bayan Baru (federal constituency)

References

1. "Malaysia Decides 2008". The Star (Malaysia). Retrieved 31 December 2009.
2. "DAP: Zahrain behaving like 'little Umno leader'". The Star (Malaysia). Retrieved 1 January 2010.
3. Habibu, Sira. "Zahrain: Lim is a dictator". The Star (Malaysia). Star Publications (Malaysia). Retrieved 29 January 2010.
4. Zuhrin Azad Ahmad (5 September 2013). "Former Bayan Baru rep named Malaysian ambassador to Indonesia". The Star. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
5. "Envoys told to return to Malaysia". Royce Tan, Eddie Chua. The Star (Malaysia). 30 June 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
6. "No more Malaysian politicians as ambassadors: Mahathir". Bernama. Channel News Asia. 21 September 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
7. "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Missing or empty |url= (help) Results only available from the 2004 election.
8. "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
9. "Malaysia Decides 2008". The Star (Malaysia). Retrieved 1 January 2009.
10. "SEMAKAN PENERIMA DARJAH KEBESARAN, BINTANG DAN PINGAT". Prime Minister's Department (Malaysia). Retrieved 22 March 2019.

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Syed Munshe Afdzaruddin Syed Hassan	Ambassador of Malaysia to Indonesia 2013–2018	Succeeded by Zainal Abidin Bakar