This article lists important figures and events in Malaysian public affairs during the year 2002, together with births and deaths of notable Malaysians.

Incumbent political figures

Federal level

Yang di-Pertuan Agong The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The of ...

Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin ibni Almarhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail ( Jawi: توانكو سيد سراج الدين ابن المرحوم توانكو سيد ڤوترا جمال الليل; born 17 May 1943) is the 7th and current Raja of Perli ...

Raja Permaisuri Agong ''Raja Permaisuri Agong'' ( Jawi: راج ڤرمايسوري اݢوڠ; full title: ''Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Seri Paduka Baginda Raja Permaisuri Agong''; سري ڤدوک بݢيندا راج ڤرمايسوري اݢوڠ, literally ''The Que ...

: Tuanku Fauziah *

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

: Dato' Sri Dr Mahathir Mohamad *

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

: Dato' Sri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi * Chief Justice:

Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah Mohamed Dzaiddin bin Abdullah (born 16 September 1938) is a retired Malaysian lawyer who served as the third Chief Justice of Malaysia. He had his early education at Sultan Abdul Hamid College ( Alor Setar, Kedah). In 1956 he worked as a jou ...

State level

Sultan of Johor The Sultan of Johor is a hereditary seat and the sovereign ruler of the Malaysian state of Johor. In the past, the sultan held absolute power over the state and was advised by a ''bendahara''. Currently, the role of ''bendahara'' has been take ...

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

of Kedah: Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah *

Kelantan Kelantan (; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate'') is a state in Malaysia. The capital is Kota Bharu and royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode"). Kelantan is located in the ...

: Sultan Ismail Petra *

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

of Perlis:

Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra ibni Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail (born in Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia) is the Raja Muda (Crown Prince) of the Malaysian state of Perlis. He is the only son and eldest child of the current Raja, Tuanku Syed S ...

(Regent) * Sultan of Perak:

Sultan Azlan Shah Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Yussuff Izzuddin Shah Ghafarullahu-lah ( Jawi: ; 19 April 1928 – 28 May 2014) was the 34th Sultan of Perak and served as the ninth Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia from 26 April 1989 to 25 ...

Pahang Pahang (;Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a ...

: Sultan Ahmad Shah *

Sultan of Selangor Sultan of Selangor (سلطان سلاڠور) is the title of the constitutional ruler of Selangor, Malaysia who is the head of state and head of the Islamic religion in Selangor. The current monarch, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah ascended the t ...

: Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah *

Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', Jawi: ), formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu, is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l- Īmān'' ("Abode of Faith"). ...

Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Al-Wathiqu Billah Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin ibni Almarhum Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah ( Jawi: ; born 22 January 1962) is the 18th and current Sultan of Terengganu. He served as the 13th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the constitutio ...

(Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong) *

Yang di-Pertuan Besar In Malay, Yang di-Pertuan Besar, literally ''"He Who Is Made Chief Ruler"'', is a title given to the head of state in segments of the Malay Archipelago. In Malaysia # Also known as Yamtuan Besar, it is the title of the elected monarch of the stat ...

Negeri Sembilan Negeri Sembilan (, Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Nogoghi Sombilan'', ''Nismilan'') is a state in Malaysia which lies on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It borders Selangor on the north, Pahang in the east, and Malacca and Johor to the s ...

: Tuanku Jaafar * Yang di-Pertua Negeri (Governor) of

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

: Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas * Yang di-Pertua Negeri (Governor) of

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...

: Tun Syed Ahmad Al-Haj bin Syed Mahmud Shahabuddin * Yang di-Pertua Negeri (Governor) of

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...

: Tun Abang Muhammad Salahuddin * Yang di-Pertua Negeri (Governor) of

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...

: Tun Sakaran Dandai

Events

*24 January – Parti Bersatu Sabah rejoins the

Barisan Nasional The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 se ...

coalition. *23 February – Malaysian

Siamese twins Conjoined twins – sometimes popularly referred to as Siamese twins – are twins joined ''in utero''. A very rare phenomenon, the occurrence is estimated to range from 1 in 49,000 births to 1 in 189,000 births, with a somewhat higher incidence ...

Ahmad and Muhammad Rosli are successfully separated at King Fahd National Guard Hospital,

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. *24 February – 9 March – The

2002 Men's Hockey World Cup The 2002 Men's Hockey World Cup was the 10th edition of the Hockey World Cup, a men's field hockey tournament. It was held from 24 February to 9 March 2002 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Germany won their first title after defeating Australia 2–1 ...

is held in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

. *14 April – The Express Rail Link, Malaysia's first high speed train, is launched. *15 April – Prime Minister

Mahathir Mohamad Mahathir bin Mohamad ( ms, محاضير بن محمد, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author, and physician who served as the 4th and 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the office ...

leaves for

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

on the first leg of a week-long tour which will also take him to

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

and

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

. *19 April – About fourteen more suspected hardcore Kumpulan Militan Malaysia members, including a woman, are arrested under the

Internal Security Act Internal Security Act may refer to: *Internal Security Act 1960, former Malaysian law *Internal Security Act (Singapore) *McCarran Internal Security Act, a United States federal law *Suppression of Communism Act, 1950, a South African law, renamed ...

, bringing the number of KMM members held since May 2001 to 62. *22 April –

is installed as the 12th

. *8 June – Prime Minister

visits

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

and meets

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

for the first time. *22 June – Prime Minister

announces that he will resign from office and be replaced by

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Tun Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi ( Jawi: عبد الله بن احمد بدوي; born 26 November 1939) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia from October 2003 to April 2009. He was also the sixth president of ...

. *23 June –

Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party The Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS; ms, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia; ms, ڤرتي إسلام سمليسيا, label=Jawi alphabet, Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is an Islamist political party in Malaysia. As the party focused on Islamic fundamen ...

president Fadzil Noor dies after undergoing heart bypass surgery. He is succeeded as PAS President and leader of the opposition in Parliament by Abdul Hadi Awang. *June – The

2002 World's Strongest Man The 2002 World's Strongest Man was the 25th edition of the international World's Strongest Man competition, and was won by Mariusz Pudzianowski from Poland. The contest was held in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia. Qualifying heats Heat 1 events: Carry ...

competition is held in Kuala Lumpur. *July – The

Pendang The Pendang District is a town, a district and a parliamentary constituency in Kedah, Malaysia. The district is primarily covered with paddy fields with agriculture being its main economic activity. Pendang town is about 20 km from state ca ...

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

is won by

Othman Abdul Dato' Wira Othman bin Abdul (born 7 July 1963) is a Malaysian corporate and political figure. He was the Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the constituency of Pendang, Kedah. He held the seat for three times; from 1986 to 1999, from 20 ...

. *8 August – Judge Datuk James Foong of the

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

High Court, Wisma Denmark, Jalan Ampang, decides that seven out of the ten people being sued by 60 residents, relatives and families of the

Highland Towers tragedy The Highland Towers collapse occurred on 11 December 1993 in Taman Hillview, Ulu Klang, Selangor, Malaysia. Tower Block 1 collapsed from a major landslide caused by heavy rains that burst diversion pipes. The Highland Towers consisted of thre ...

were negligent. *11–13 October –

2002 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix The 2002 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix was the fourteenth round of the 2002 MotoGP Championship. It took place on the weekend of 11–13 October 2002 at the Sepang International Circuit. MotoGP classification 250 cc classification 125 cc c ...

*21 November – The

bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a b ...

of the Affin Bank chairman General (RtD) Tan Sri Ismail Omar collapses during a landslide in

Taman Hillview Hillview is a township in Ulu Klang, Gombak District, Selangor, Malaysia. The township lies in a landslide-prone area. It is located next the Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 2. This township was once home to many Western expatriates circa 1970s. It ...

, Ulu Klang,

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...

. Eight people are killed. *4 December – Arab-Malaysian Finance Bhd appeales to Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Lamin Yunus to meet with Court of Appeal Judge Datuk Mokhtar Sidin and Datuk Mohd Saari Yusoff on compensation to be paid to victims of the

Highland Towers collapse The Highland Towers collapse occurred on 11 December 1993 in Taman Hillview, Ulu Klang, Selangor, Malaysia. Tower Block 1 collapsed from a major landslide caused by heavy rains that burst diversion pipes. The Highland Towers consisted of three ...

. At the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

, three judges led by Datuk Gopal Sri Ram with Datuk

Richard Malanjum Tun Richard Malanjum (born 13 October 1952) is a Malaysian jurist and lawyer who served as the ninth Chief Justice of Malaysia and fourth Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak. Before joining the judicial service, he was a practising lawyer and was ...

and Datuk Wira Ghazali Mohd Yusoff order three negligent parties to pay damages –

Ampang Jaya Municipal Council Ampang Jaya Municipal Council ( ms, Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya, Jawi: مجليس ڤربندرن امڤاڠ جاي) is a local authority which administers Ampang Jaya of Selangor, Malaysia. History This agency was founded on 1 July 1992, ...

15%, engineer Wong Yuen Kean 10%, Arab-Malaysian 30%, Metrolux Sdn Bhd and MBF Property Services Sdn Bhd 20%. *18 December – The islands of

Sipadan Sipadan ( ms, Pulau Sipadan) is the only oceanic island in Malaysia, rising from the seabed. It is located in the Celebes Sea off the east coast of Sabah, Malaysia. It was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct volcanic cone that ...

and

Ligitan Ligitan ( ms, Pulau Ligitan) is a small island in Tawau, Sabah, located east of the island of Borneo, in the Celebes Sea. In the past, the island was at the centre of a territorial dispute between Malaysia and Indonesia. The matter was brought ...

are officially awarded to Malaysia by the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

, who reject the Indonesian claim to the islands.

Births

*5 March –

Luqman Hakim Shamsudin Luqman Hakim Shamsudin ( ms, لقمان الحكيم بن الشمس الدين , label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset, IPA: ; born 5 March 2002) is a Malaysian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Icelandic club Njarðvík F ...

– Footballer *23 March – Sikh Izhan Nazrel – Footballer *4 May –

Arif Aiman Arif Aiman bin Mohd Hanapi (born 4 May 2002) is a Malaysian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Malaysia Super League club Johor Darul Ta'zim and the Malaysia national team. Youth career Arif's talent was discovered during t ...

– Footballer *6 June —

Junaidi Arif Wan Muhammad Arif Shaharuddin bin Wan Junaidi (born 6 June 2002) is a Malaysian badminton player. He won the 2021 Austrian Open and Ukraine International tournaments in the men's doubles event partnered with Muhammad Haikal. Career Partne ...

— Badminton player *16 June –

Mohamad Aniq Kasdan Mohamad Aniq bin Kasdan is a Malaysian weightlifter. He won the silver medal in the Clean & Jerk men's 55 kg event at the 2021 World Weightlifting Championships held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. He also created history by being the first Malaysia ...

– Weightlifter *25 June –

Zikri Khalili Ahmad Zikri bin Mohd Khalili (, IPA: ; born 25 June 2002) is a Malaysian professional footballer who plays as a right back for Malaysia Super League club Selangor. Club career Early year Zikri was born in Bandar Tun Razak, Pahang. Alongside ...

– Footballer *26 December —

Muhammad Haikal Muhammad Haikal Nazri (born 26 December 2002) is a Malaysian badminton player. He won three titles in 2021: Austrian Open, Hellas International and Ukraine International tournaments in the men's doubles event partnered with Junaidi Arif. C ...

— Badminton player

Deaths

*23 June – Fadzil Noor – The president of PAS political party, a member of parliament for

and state assemblyman for Anak Bukit, Kedah *31 August – Tan Sri Wong Pow Nee – Penang's first Chief Minister *30 October –

Rejabhad Rejabhad, or Rejab bin Had, (23 August 1939 - 14 November 2002), was a Malaysian cartoonist, whose career started in the 1950s. History His hometown was in Permatang Pauh, Penang. Rejabhad knew famous Malaysian cartoonist, Rashidin, who taught hi ...

– Famous cartoonist

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2002 in Malaysia Years of the 21st century in Malaysia 2000s in Malaysia

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...