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Shahrizat Abdul Jalil

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Shahrizat Abdul Jalil
شهرزاد بنت عبدالجليل
Women Chief of the United Malays National Organisation
In office
26 March 2009 – 24 June 2018
PresidentNajib Razak
DeputyKamilia Ibrahim (2009–2013)
Azizah Mohd Dun (2013–2018)
Preceded byRafidah Aziz
Succeeded byNoraini Ahmad
Ministerial roles
1995–1999Parliamentary Secretary of Youth and Sports
1999–2001Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department
2001Minister of Women Affairs
2001–2004Minister of Women and Family
2004–2008Minister of Women, Family and Community Development
2005–2006Acting Minister of Federal Territories
2009–2012Minister of Women, Family and Community Development
Faction represented in Dewan Rakyat
1995–2008Barisan Nasional
Faction represented in Dewan Negara
2009–2012Barisan Nasional
Other roles
2008–2009Special advisor to the prime minister on women and social development affairs
Personal details
Born
Shahrizat binti Abdul Jalil

(1953-08-15) 15 August 1953 (age 71)
Penang, Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia)
CitizenshipMalaysian
Political partyUnited Malays National Organisation (UMNO)
Other political
affiliations
Barisan Nasional (BN)
SpouseDr. Mohamad Salleh Ismail
Children3
Alma materUniversity of Malaya
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionLawyer

Shahrizat binti Abdul Jalil (Jawi: شهرزاد بنت عبدالجليل; born 15 August 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served in the Cabinet of Malaysia as Minister of Women, Family and Community Development from 2009 to 2012. She was the Member of Parliament for Lembah Pantai from 1995 to 2008 and subsequently served as a Senator in the Dewan Negara.

Shahrizat is the former Chairlady of the Women's wing of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), and therefore also the Chairlady of the Women's Wing of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition. She is also the Advisor to the Prime Minister of Malaysia on Women Entrepreneurship and Professional Development.

Shahrizat is married to Mohamad Salleh Ismail with whom she has three children.

Early life and education

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Shahrizat was born on 15 August 1953 in Penang. She was an active student in academics and also curricular activities. She attended Northam Road Girls' School and Madrasah Tarbiah Islamiah during her primary years, and pursued her secondary education at St. George's Girls' School. She then continued her school education in the prestigious Kolej Tunku Kurshiah in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. She attended University Malaya Law School and graduated with distinction in 1976. She then served as a magistrate for three years. Shahrizat was later appointed as the Assistant Treasury Solicitor. She leaves the public service sector in 1980 to become a partner in a law firm. Shahrizat was with Soo Thein Ming & Shahrizat for 16 years before she started her own legal firm, Tetuan Shahrizat & Tan, on 1 July 1983.[1]

Ministership

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Shahrizat became the first Minister for Women and Family Development when the ministry was created by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in 2001. Later, when Abdullah Ahmad Badawi became Prime Minister, he revamped the ministry and renamed it to Ministry for Women, Family and Community Development.

She was also acting Federal Territories Minister from 16 October 2005 until 16 February 2005, when fellow UMNO member Mohd Isa Abdul Samad had to step down from the post after being found guilty of corruption charges. Zulhasnan Rafique was later chosen to fill the post.

Member of Parliament

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Shahrizat was the Member of Parliament for the Lembah Pantai constituency in Kuala Lumpur from 1995 to 2008. Housing squatters in Lembah Pantai under her leadership has been Barisan Nasional's trump card. To date, some 90% of squatters in Lembah Pantai have been resettled and allowed to purchase their homes, according to Shahrizat.

When Shahrizat first became the area's MP in 1995, the problem of the day was squatters as well as other concerns, such as floods, fire, garbage collection, street lamps, and children's scholarships. Nevertheless, some have disputed her contribution to the development seen in the constituency, with most development being private sector driven initiatives, or projects under the Kuala Lumpur City Hall, which is unrelated to her position as an MP.[2]

During the 1999 general election, Shahrizat narrowly defeated Zainur Zakaria. The counting of votes was fraught with controversy, and Shahrizat won after a recount was conducted.

In an upset during the 2008 general election, she lost her seat to a 27-year-old newcomer, Nurul Izzah Anwar, daughter of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) de facto leader, Anwar Ibrahim.

Post 2008 general elections

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Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi appointed Shahrizat as Special Adviser to the Prime Minister for Women and Social Development Affairs on March 18, 2008, recognising that this wing was not represented in his cabinet.[3]

It was said she would be working closely with the ministry she had once served. The special adviser position carries with it ministerial status whereby she gets access to information and is provided with an office and secretaries like a full Cabinet minister. However, she cannot attend Cabinet meetings.

Upon Shahrizat's victory as Wanita UMNO Chairlady on March 26, 2009, and Najib Tun Razak becoming Prime Minister, she was reappointed Minister of Women, Family and Community Development on April 10, 2009. To qualify to be appointed a minister, she was sworn in as a Senator in the Dewan Negara the day before.

Controversy

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National Feedlot Corporation

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In late 2011, the National Feedlot Corporation cattle-farming project in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan, became an issue of public interest. Shahrizat's husband, National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd (NFCorp) executive chairman Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail, was charged with two criminal breach of trust charges, allegedly for misusing a loan meant for the development of the project. However, he was found to be innocent, and the Attorney-General's Chambers withdrew charges against him due to lack of evidence.[4]

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) cleared Shahrizat of any wrongdoing in the NFC issue. MACC Chairman Tan Sri Dr Hadenan Abdul Jalil had said that the panel made the decision after studying investigation papers and reports from the Attorney General's Chambers, and closed the case against the former Women, Family and Community Development minister and cleared her name.[5]

Sources

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Khoo Salma Nasution, Alison Hayes & Sehra Yeap Zimbulis: Giving Our Best: The Story of St George's Girls' School, Penang, 1885-2010, Areca Books, 2010

Election results

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Parliament of Malaysia[6][7][8][9]
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
1995 P109 Lembah Pantai Shahrizat Abdul Jalil (UMNO) 23,447 68.99% Mohd Salleh Abas (S46) 10,058 29.60% 33,984 13,389 65.22%
1999 Shahrizat Abdul Jalil (UMNO) 18,726 51.65% Zainur Zakaria (keADILan) 17,272 47.64% 36,256 1,454 68.91%
2004 P121 Lembah Pantai Shahrizat Abdul Jalil (UMNO) 26,474 69.75% Sanusi Osman (PKR) 11,186 29.47% 37,958 15,288 67.11%
2008 Shahrizat Abdul Jalil (UMNO) 18,833 45.61% Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR) 21,728 52.62% 41,289 2,895 72.88%
Periasamy Nagarathnam (IND) 489 1.18%

Honours

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Honours of Malaysia

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References

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  1. ^ "Shahrizat Abdul Jalil". Menteriku.blogspot.com. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  2. ^ New dimension to urban voting, The Star, March 2, 2008.
  3. ^ Shahrizat made Special Adviser Archived 2008-12-07 at the Wayback Machine, The Star, March 19, 2008.
  4. ^ "Charges against NFCorp exec chairman withdrawn due to lack of evidence, New Straits Times". December 8, 2015.
  5. ^ "NFC scandal: Shahrizat cleared of involvement, The Star Online". May 31, 2012.
  6. ^ "13th Malaysian General Election". The Star. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
  7. ^ "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri". Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 6 June 2010. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  8. ^ "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen 2013". Election Commission of Malaysia (in Malay). Retrieved 6 May 2013.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Results only available from the 2004 election.
  10. ^ "Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat". Archived from the original on 2019-07-19. Retrieved 2018-08-24.