Mohamed Azmin Ali

Mohamed Azmin bin Ali (Jawi: محمد عزمين بن علي; born 25 August 1964) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the Senior Minister for Finance and Economics, Minister of International Trade and Industry in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration under Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin since March 2020, Member of Parliament (MP) for Gombak and Member of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Bukit Antarabangsa since March 2008. He served as the Minister of Economic Affairs in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration under former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad from May 2018 to the collapse of the PH administration in February 2020 and Menteri Besar of Selangor from September 2014 to June 2018. He is a member, member of the Supreme Council and Chairman of the International Bureau of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU), a component party of the ruling PN coalition. He is a founding member, was a member and served as Deputy President of the People's Justice Party (PKR), a component party of the PH opposition coalition, from November 2010 to his resignation from party in February 2020 with several other MPs and its Vice-President from Novemebr 2001 to November 2010. He is also former President of the Football Association of Selangor (FAS). [1]

Yang Berhormat Dato' Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali SPMS MP MLA
محمد عزمين بن علي
Azmin in 2019
Senior Minister (Finance and Economics)
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 March 2020 Serving with Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Fadillah Yusof, Mohd Radzi Md Jidin
Monarch	Abdullah
Prime Minister	Muhyiddin Yassin
Preceded by	Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
Constituency	Gombak
Minister of International Trade and Industry
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 March 2020
Monarch	Abdullah
Prime Minister	Muhyiddin Yassin
Deputy	Lim Ban Hong
Preceded by	Darell Leiking
Constituency	Gombak
Minister of Economic Affairs
In office 21 May 2018 – 24 February 2020
Monarch	Muhammad V Abdullah
Prime Minister	Mahathir Mohamad
Deputy	Mohd Radzi Md Jidin
Preceded by	Abdul Rahman Dahlan as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Economic Planning Unit)
Succeeded by	Mustapa Mohamed as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Economic Affairs)
Constituency	Gombak
15th Menteri Besar of Selangor
In office 23 September 2014 – 19 June 2018
Monarch	Sharafuddin
Preceded by	Abdul Khalid Ibrahim
Succeeded by	Amirudin Shari
Constituency	Bukit Antarabangsa
Deputy President of the People's Justice Party
In office 28 November 2010 – 24 February 2020
President	Wan Azizah Wan Ismail Anwar Ibrahim
Preceded by	Syed Husin Ali
Constituency	Gombak
Vice-President of the People's Justice Party
In office 9 November 2001 – 28 November 2010
President	Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	See list Nurul Izzah Anwar Tian Chua Fuziah Salleh Mansor Othman
Constituency	Gombak
Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Gombak
Incumbent
Assumed office 8 March 2008
Preceded by	Rahman Ismail (UMNO–BN)
Majority	6,867 (2008) 4,734 (2013) 48,721 (2018)
Member of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly for Bukit Antarabangsa
Incumbent
Assumed office 8 March 2008
Preceded by	Azman Wahid (UMNO–BN)
Majority	1,381 (2008) 4,044 (2013) 25,512 (2018)
Personal details
Born	Mohamed Azmin bin Ali 25 August 1964 State of Singapore, Malaysia
Citizenship	Malaysian
Political party	UMNO (1987-1998) PKR (1998-2020) BERSATU (since 2020)
Other political affiliations	Barisan Alternatif (1998-2004) Pakatan Rakyat (2008-2015) Pakatan Harapan (2015-2020) Perikatan Nasional (since 2020) Muafakat Nasional (since 2020)
Spouse(s)	Shamshida Tahrin
Relations	Azwan Ali (brother) Ummi Hafilda Ali (sister)
Children	6
Residence	Ulu Kelang, Selangor, Malaysia
Alma mater	University of Minnesota
Occupation	Politician
Signature
Website	www.azminali.com
Mohamed Azmin Ali on Parliament of Malaysia

Early years and education

Mohamed Azmin Ali was born on 25 August 1964 in Singapore (then a state of Malaysia) to Ali and Che Tom Yahaya. His father worked for the British Army as a clerk. His family later migrated to Malaysia and he grew up in Kuala Lumpur. He began his education at Gurney Road Primary School, then Setapak High School, and ended it at Jalan Cheras Technical Institute.

He received BSc in Economics and Mathematics from the University of Minnesota. He later completed his master's degree in Education from the same institute where he met Shamsidar Taharin, his future wife. While studying, Azmin taught modern and additional mathematics. One of his notable students was Razali Ibrahim, a former deputy minister, when they were in MRSM Terendak. He also attended an executive training programme at the University of Oxford.

Personal life

He is married to Shamshida Tahrin, a finance graduate also from the University of Minnesota. The couple have three sons and three daughters.[2] He lives in Ampang.

In addition to an elder brother, Azman Ali,[3] among his younger brothers are television host and celebrity Azwan Ali,[4] and motivator Arpah Ali, while his younger sister is Ummi Hafilda Ali, a prosecution witness in the sodomy trial of jailed former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.[5][6]

Political career

Early career

In 1987, following advice from the Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Azmin started working for Anwar Ibrahim, who was then a Minister in Mahathir's Barisan Nasional government. Azmin served as Anwar's personal secretary through Anwar's appointment as Deputy Prime Minister in 1993 and until Mahathir sacked Anwar in 1998. Azmin remained close to Anwar following the dismissal and they both became founders of the opposition Parti Keadilan Nasional (KeADILan), which later became the People's Justice Party or Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).[7]

State assemblyman and parliamentarian

Keadilan entered the 1999 general elections amidst voter anger over Anwar's dismissal and subsequent imprisonment. Azmin was elected Selangor State Assemblyman for Hulu Kelang. However, he was barred from participating in the 2004 general elections due to his conviction for lying in court during the trial against Anwar. The High Court and Court of Appeal have since acquitted him.[8]

Azmin returned to national politics in the 2008 general elections, winning the Gombak parliamentary seat and Bukit Antarabangsa state seat in Selangor. Meanwhile, in 2010, he won an internal PKR election for the party's deputy presidency. He replaced Syed Husin, who did not seek re-election.[9] He was reelected as the party’s deputy president in 2018 after a close election against Rafizi Ramli.[10]

In the 2013 general elections and 2018 general elections he managed to clinch both seats again.[11]

Menteri Besar of Selangor

Azmin became the Menteri Besar of Selangor on 23 September 2014, following the resignation of the PKR incumbent Khalid Ibrahim. His ascension to the post followed months of internal political wrangling within the Pakatan Rakyat coalition that led the state. Khalid had been the Menteri Besar since the coalition of PKR, the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) won a majority in the Selangor State Assembly in the 2008 election. In early 2014, PKR's national leader, Anwar Ibrahim, then a federal parliamentarian sought to contest the Selangor State Assembly seat of Kajang in a by-election. The so-called "Kajang Move" would have allowed Anwar to oust Khalid as Menteri Besar with PKR's support. However, after Anwar's conviction for sodomy weeks before the by-election, his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail assumed PKR's nomination for the by-election in his place and won the seat. Khalid resigned as Menteri Besar after PKR withdrew its support for his leadership later in the year. PKR, with the DAP's support, nominated Wan Azizah to replace him, but both the Sultan of Selangor (who appoints the Menteri Besar) and the third coalition party, PAS, sought other options. The Sultan requested that each coalition party submit three names for his consideration. PKR and the DAP submitted only Wan Azizah's name, while PAS submitted others.[12][13][14][15] On 22 September, the Sultan announced the appointment of Azmin. He was sworn into office the following morning.[16]

Azmin was the sole recipient of the Order of the Crown of Selangor in Knight Grand Commander class (S.P.M.S) in 2015, which carries the title 'Dato' Seri' in conjunction with the 70th birthday of the Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah on 11 December 2015.[17]

Azmin was once again reelected as the Menteri Besar of Selangor in the aftermath of 2018 Malaysian general election after defending his Bukit Antarabangsa state seat. He was sworn into title on the evening of 11 May 2018 at Istana Alam Shah.[18]

Minister of Economic Affairs

Following the aftermath of the 2018 General Election, Azmin was named as one of the ministers in the newly elected Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's cabinet on 18 May 2018.[19] He is to head the newly established Ministry of Economic Affairs. He was sworn in as the Minister of Economic Affairs on 21 May 2018 at Istana Negara.[20] His term ended on 24 February 2020 after the dissolution of cabinet following the resignation of Mahathir Mohamad as Malaysia's Prime Minister per article 43(5) of the Constitution of Malaysia, that allowed the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to revoke the appointment of ministers.[21][22][23]

Change of allegiance

On the morning of 23 February 2020, Azmin held a meeting with several lawmakers from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and twenty others at Sheraton Hotel, Petaling, amidst the rumour of a formation of a new coalition at the parliament of Malaysia.[24] He and his faction in PKR, went to the Istana Negara on the evening to seek a meeting with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Abdullah of Pahang. Leaders from other five political parties; Bersatu's Muhyiddin Yassin, UMNO's Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, GPS's Abang Johari Openg, Warisan's Shafie Apdal and PAS's Hadi Awang were also in attendance.[25] It was speculated that the leaders were there to brief the Agong about the recent political development; formation of a new coalition government and to declare their support for a new prime minister, effectively blocking PKR's president Anwar Ibrahim from the position.[26][27] After the meeting, several opposition party leaders, including UMNO's Ismail Sabri Yaakob and PAS' Hadi Awang then joined Azmin's supporters at Sheraton Hotel.[28]

On the next day, 24 February, PKR's general secretary, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail announced in a press conference at the party's headquarters that Azmin and Minister of Housing and Local Government, Zuraida Kamaruddin who is also the vice president of PKR had been sacked from the party.[29] Saifuddin explained that they were expelled due to their actions on 23 October which was against the party's principle regarding the position of prime minister.[30] Azmin later announced that he will be forming an independent bloc at the parliament along with Zuraida and other nine MPs who had decided to exit the party following his expulsion.[31] However, on 28 February 2020, a representative from Bersatu confirmed that Azmin and his faction had joined the party.[32]

He was named as one of the four senior ministers alongside Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Fadillah Yusof and Mohd Radzi Md Jidin in Muhyiddin cabinet on 9 March 2020. The positions were established by Muhyiddin Yassin, the eighth prime minister as a substitute for the deputy prime minister position.[33] Although the four ministers were of equal standings, Azmin was designated by the prime minister to preside over the cabinet's meeting in his absence.[34]

Controversies

2019 sex scandal

On 12 June 2019, it was reported that Azmin was filmed being intimate with another man, political aide Haziq Abdul Aziz, in a video circulating on social media. Azmin has denied his involvement.[35] Muhammad Haziq Abdul Aziz later confirmed his involvement in the act with the minister and urged authorities to investigate him.[36] Until 16 July 2019, nine people had been arrested by Royal Malaysia Police in the investigation regarding their involvement in making and distribution of the lewd video, including Haziq who had admitted he was the person in the video, and Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak who is PKR Perak state chairman and is also Anwar Ibrahim's political secretary.[37][38] After Farhash was released by the police for investigation, he shouted “Azmin semburit” in a speech, which was repeated by the crowd. Semburit literally means sodomy and homosexual acts between two men.[39] On 18 July 2019, the Inspector General of Police, Abdul Hamid Bador stated that although the video was authentic, the individual in the video is unidentifiable.[40] He also stated that the group of individuals who made the video were paid thousand of Ringgits, and the video circulation was masterminded by a leader of a political party, with the intention to degrade and defame someone's reputation.[41]

10 Gombak voters file suit against Azmin

Ten registered voters in the Gombak parliamentary constituency have filed a suit against their parliament member, Mohamed Azmin Ali. The 10, as plaintiffs, filed the lawsuit through Messrs Yohendra Nadarajan at the High Court here on Nov 27, named Mohamad Azmin as the sole defendant. The plaintiffs claim that Mohamed Azmin's representations were false and that he only wanted their votes. The ten also claimed that they had relied on those representations to vote for the defendant's 14th General Election. They seek damages, including aggravated or exemplary damages, interests, costs and other orders deemed fit by the court. "By breaching these representations, the defendant had violated constitutional rights, especially the principles of parliamentary democracy and representative democracy," they said in a statement of claim. The plaintiffs are applying for a declaration that the defendant has breached his fiduciary duties and the duties owed and deceived them.[42]

Views and comments on various issues

Loss of faith in Anwar Ibrahim

Azmin decided to leave PKR and join Bersatu. Azmin said, 'immoral sexual practices' by Anwar caused him to lose faith in the PKR president.[43] Anwar, however, denies committing any sexual misconduct. Azmin stated the matter in a defence statement regarding the suit filed by 10 Gombak voters against him.  Azmin denies allegations that he failed to fulfil his election promises to voters in the Gombak constituency. He said he doubted the full pardon status granted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong against Anwar. Azmin said he was still committed to fighting and eliminating corruption even though he was not with PKR and had joined Bersatu. He also denied that he was responsible for the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government's fall in February last year. Instead, he said, the PH government collapsed due to the resignation of the then prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Election results

Selangor State Legislative Assembly[44][45][46][47][48][49]

Year	Constituency			Votes	Pct	Opponent(s)		Votes	Pct	Ballots cast	Majority	Turnout
1999	N18 Hulu Kelang, P91 Gombak.		Mohamed Azmin Ali (KeADILan)	9,185	53.32%		Fuad Hassan (UMNO)	8,039	46.67%	17,395	1,146	76.65%
2008	N19 Bukit Antarabangsa, P99 Ampang.		Mohamed Azmin Ali (PKR)	11,731	52.91%		Haslinda Mohd Zerain (UMNO)	10,350	46.68%	22,397	1,381	72.99%
2013			Mohamed Azmin Ali (PKR)	16,502	56.81%		Mohamad Nadzim Ibrahim (UMNO)	12,458	42.89%	29,352	4,044	85.16%
2018			Mohamed Azmin Ali (PKR)	30,892	79.64%		Salwa Yunus (UMNO)	5,380	13.87%	39,057	25,512	84.44%
							Syarifah Haslizah Syed Ariffin (PAS)	2,311	5.96%
							Ahmad Kamarudin (PRM)	116	0.30%
							Mohamed Azwan Ali (IND)	90	0.23%

Parliament of Malaysia[44][45][46][47][48][49]

Year	Constituency			Votes	Pct	Opponent(s)		Votes	Pct	Ballots cast	Majority	Turnout
2008	P98 Gombak, Selangor.		Mohamed Azmin Ali (PKR)	40,334	53.92%		Said Anuar Said Ahmad (UMNO)	33,467	44.74%	75,619	6,867	76.26%
2013			Mohamed Azmin Ali (PKR)	54,827	51.82%		Rahman Ismail (UMNO)	50,093	47.34%	107,162	4,734	86.92%
							Said Nazar Abu Baker (IND)	474	0.45%
2018			Mohamed Azmin Ali (PKR)	75,113	63.10%		Abdul Rahim Pandak Kamaruddin (UMNO)	26,392	22.17%	119,975	48,721	85.43%
							Khairil Nizam Khirudin (PAS)	17,537	14.73%

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

•  Selangor :
  • Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Selangor (SPMS) - Dato' Seri (2015)[50]

References

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2. "Azmin's appointment marks rise through PKR ranks". New Straits Times. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
3. "Azmin Ali jejak kaki ke rumah Azwan selepas 9 tahun". mStar (in Malay). 19 October 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
4. Dennis Chua (14 June 2019). "#Showbiz: 'Min, I seek your forgiveness, I've wronged you a lot all these years' - Azwan Ali". New Straits Times. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
5. Shakira Buang (29 December 2017). "Helo mufti, boleh tak kau..." Malaysia Kini (in Malay). Retrieved 24 February 2020.
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8. No case against Azmin The Star. 8 January 2009
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10. "PKR Election 2018 Tracker". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
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13. Mohd Farwan Darwis (9 March 2014). "Wan Azizah to contest Kajang seat, replaces Anwar". The Malaysian Insider. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
14. Ng, Eileen (23 September 2014). "With Azmin as MB, the failure of PKR's Kajang Move, say analysts". The Malaysian Insider. Archived from the original on 25 September 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
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17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 December 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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19. "PM umum senarai menteri Kabinet". Sinar Harian (in Malay). 18 May 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
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23. Constitution of Malaysia - Article 43: Cabinet  – via Wikisource.
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25. See update at 7:11pm - Istana Negara "New coalition: Anwar in emergency meeting, Azmin vows to continue reform agenda". Malaysia Kini. 23 February 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
26. Sadho Ram (23 February 2020). "PAS, UMNO, Bersatu, Amanah And 10 PKR MPs Said To Be Forming A New Coalition Govt". SAYS. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
27. Ratcliffe, Rebecca (24 February 2020). "Malaysia's PM Mahathir Mohamad resigns amid political turmoil". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
28. Yiswaree Palansamy (23 February 2020). "Azmin arrives at Sheraton Hotel, first sighting since rumoured new coalition". Malay Mail. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
29. "Azmin, Zuraida sacked from PKR". MSN. 24 February 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
30. "Azmin, Zuraida sacked from party of Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim". The Jakarta Post. 24 February 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
31. "Azmin and Zuraida seen entering Dr M's Seri Kembangan house after his resignation as PM". Malay Mail. 24 February 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
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33. "4 Menteri Kanan ganti TPM". Berita Harian (in Malay). 9 March 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
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35. "Malaysian cabinet minister allegedly depicted in gay sex video, accused of corruption". ABC News. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
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37. "Pengerusi PKR negeri antara 3 ditahan kes video lucah". Berita Harian. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
38. Rahimah Ibrahim (17 July 2019). "Anwar terkejut setiausaha politiknya ditahan polis". Astro Awani. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
39. Bakar, Adam Abu (24 July 2019). "'Semburit' speech by Farhash warrants disciplinary action, says PKR women's chief". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
40. "Azmin tidak dapat dikaitkan dengan video intim - Ketua Polis Negara". Astro Awani. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
41. Nurul Riduan Nor Ashaha (18 July 2019). "Kos penghasilan video intim cecah ratusan ribu ringgit: KPN". Sinar Harian. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
42. www.astroawani.com https://www.astroawani.com/berita-malaysia/10-gombak-voters-file-suit-against-azmin-271127. Retrieved 30 January 2021. Missing or empty |title= (help)
43. "Azmin sebut amalan 'tak bermoral' Anwar punca dia tinggalkan PKR". Malaysiakini (in Malay). 30 January 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
44. "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
45. "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Results only available from the 2004 election.
46. "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen 13" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
47. "14th General Election Result - Selangor". pru14result.bernama.com. BERNAMA. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
48. "SEMAKAN KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM KE - 14" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 17 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
49. "The Star Online GE14". The Star. Retrieved 24 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
50. "Azmin Ali is now a Datuk Seri". Bernama. New Straits Times. 11 December 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2018.

External links

• Personal biography
• Official blog