Saifuddin Abdullah

This is a Malay name; the name Abdullah is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Saifuddin.
Yang Berbahagia Dato'
Saifuddin Abdullah
Chief Secretary of Pakatan Harapan
Assumed office
October 19, 2015
Preceded by Position established
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Temerloh, Pahang
In office
2008–2013
Preceded by Mohd Sarit Yusoh (UMNO–BN)
Succeeded by Nasrudin Hassan (PAS–PR)
Personal details
Born (1961-01-27) 27 January 1961
Kampung Sungai Ara, Mentakab, Pahang, Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia)
Political party PKR (2015-present)
UMNO (until 2015)
Occupation Politician
Religion Sunni Islam
Website www.saifuddinabdullah.com.my

Dato' Saifuddin Abdullah (born 27 January 1961) is a Malaysian politician and was the Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Temerloh constituency in Pahang from 2008 to 2013.

Saifuddin was elected to Parliament in the 2008 election,[1] and was immediately appointed as a deputy minister,[2] being cited as a future ministerial prospect.[3] He had previously been the Secretary-General of the Malaysian Youth Council.[4] After the election he was appointed as a deputy minister, and was the Deputy Minister for 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.[5][6] 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.[7] 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.[8]

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.[9] 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.[10][11]

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.[12]

Election results

Parliament of Malaysia: P88 Temerloh, Pahang[1]
Year Government Votes Pct Opposition Votes Pct
2008 Saifuddin Abdullah (UMNO) 21,381 52% Ahmad Nizam Hamid (PKR) 18,940 46%
2013 Saifuddin Abdullah (UMNO) 27,197 48% Nasrudin Hassan (PAS) 28,267 50%

References

  1. 1 2 "Malaysia Decides 2008". The Star. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
  2. ↑ Khoo, Simon (25 March 2008). "Signs for Pahang to buck up". The Star. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
  3. ↑ Koshy, Shaila (8 January 2009). "Zaid: Future looks bright although Malaysia faces a lot of problems". The Star. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
  4. ↑ Ahmad, Abdul Razak (21 April 2000). "Matin tasked with monitoring religious activities". New Straits Times. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
  5. ↑ Chi, Melissa (23 May 2014). "10 things about Saifuddin Abdullah, moderation poster boy". The Malay Mail. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  6. ↑ Ng, Eileen (5 May 2014). "After GE13, some relegated to political wilderness". The Malaysian Insider. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  7. ↑ Teoh, Shannon (5 November 2011). "Umno deputy minister says Putrajaya will lose moral ground with UUCA appeal". The Malaysian Insider. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  8. ↑ "Netizens give "listen, listen" UUM speaker an earful". The Star. 15 January 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  9. ↑ "Calling for a new breed of politicians". Malaysia Today. 16 March 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
  10. ↑ Awani, Astro (30 June 2014). "Saifuddin quits UM post in solidarity with UMcedel director". Astro Awani. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  11. ↑ Suganya, L. (29 June 2014). "Saifuddin quits as UM fellow in solidarity with dismissed Prof Redzuan". The Star. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  12. ↑ Ng, Eileen (15 October 2015). "I left Umno over 1MDB, RM2.6 billion, says Saifuddin". The Malaysian Insider. Retrieved 15 October 2015.


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