Mohd Puad Zarkashi (Jawi: فؤاد زرکشي) (born 7 July 1957) is a

Malaysian Malaysian may refer to: * Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia * Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia * Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who has served as Speaker of the

Johor State Legislative Assembly The Johor State Legislative Assembly ( ms, Dewan Negeri Johor) is the unicameral legislature of the Malaysian state of Johor. It is composed of 56 members who are elected from single-member constituencies throughout the state. Elections are he ...

since April 2022 and Member of the

(MLA) for

Rengit Rengit is a town and an autonomous sub-district in Mukim Sungai Kluang, Batu Pahat District, Johor, Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal ter ...

since March 2022. He served as

Deputy Minister of Education Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...

in 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 ...

(BN) administration under former Prime Minister

Najib Razak Dato' Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak ( ms, محمد نجيب بن عبد الرزاق, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 6th prime minister of Malaysi ...

and former Minister

Muhyiddin Yassin Tan Sri Dato' Haji Mahiaddin bin Md Yasin (born 15 May 1947), commonly known as Muhyiddin bin Muhammad Yassin ( ms, محيي الدين بن محمد ياسين, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; ), is a Malaysian politician who serv ...

from April 2009 to May 2013,

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for Batu Pahat from March 2008 to May 2013,

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from October 2004 to October 2007 and Director-General of

Special Affairs Department Community Communications Department ( ms, Jabatan Komunikasi Komuniti, Abbr.: J-KOM) (previously called Special Affairs Department ( ms, Jabatan Hal Ehwal Khas, Abbr.: JASA) is a government agency of the Malaysian government, under the purview ...

(JASA) from March 2015 to his resignation in April 2018. He is a member of the

United Malays National Organisation The United Malays National Organisation (Malay: ; Jawi: ; abbreviated UMNO () or less commonly PEKEMBAR), is a nationalist right-wing political party in Malaysia. As the oldest continuous national political party within Malaysia (since its in ...

(UMNO), a component party of the ruling BN coalition. He is also Member of the Supreme Council of UMNO.

Early life and education

Puad is of Banjar descent. He holds a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

conferred by the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hull ...

Political career

Puad was elected at the 2008 election for the seat previously held by UMNO's Junaidy Abdul Wahab. Percentage figures are calculated based on total turnout. Includes results from the 2004 election. He had previously been a

. Puad served one term in Parliament, after being defeated in the 2013 election by

Mohd Idris Jusi Datuk Mohd Idris Jusi is a Malaysian politician from the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) of Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition. He was the Member of Parliament for the Batu Pahat constituency in the state of Johor for one term from 2013 to 2018. Per ...

of the opposition

People's Justice Party The People's Justice Party ( ms, Parti Keadilan Rakyat , often known simply as KEADILAN or PKR) is a reformist political party in Malaysia, formed in 2003 by a merger of the National Justice Party and the older Malaysian People's Party. The ...

(PKR). Despite his defeat, he was re-elected to UMNO's 25-member Supreme Council later in the year. Puad was dropped as candidate by UMNO in the 2018 general election. In April 2008, Puad called for the resignation of then Prime Minister

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 ...

after UMNO's performance in the 2008 election. When

replaced Abdullah as Prime Minister in April 2009, Puad was appointed a Deputy Education Minister. Puad was appointed as JASA director-general in March 2015 but he quit on 25 April 2018 in protest for not being picked as a BN candidate for the 2018 general election. JASA was somehow disbanded months later by the new

Pakatan Harapan The Alliance of Hope ( ms, Pakatan Harapan; abbrev: PH; stylized as HARAPAN) is a Malaysian political coalition consisting of centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has been the r ...

(PH) government after the downfall of the BN in the 2018 election.

Controversies

In September 2012, Puad stated his belief that homosexuals could be identified through various means including the use of "V-Neck and sleeveless clothing" as well as a person's personal preference for "tight and light-colored clothing". He stated that these characteristics were "symptoms" which would allow parents to spot whether or not their son may be a homosexual, supporting the need to discipline them into turning straight "like it's a disease which can be cured" – a stance that is also endorsed by Malaysia's Education Ministry because they believe that this could actually affect one's ability to learn.

Election results

Honours

* : **

MY Darjah Jasa Negara - Order of Meritorious Service - PJN

Commander of the

Order of Meritorious Service The Distinguished Order of Meritorious Service ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Jasa Negara) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. It should not be confused with the Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: ...

(PJN) - Datuk (2014) * : ** MY-PAH Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang - Knight Companion - DSAP

Knight Companion of the

Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang The Most Illustrious Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang (Malay: ''Darjah Kebesaran Sultan Ahmad Shah Pahang Yang Amat Di Mulia'') is a knighthood order of the Sultanate of Pahang. History The order was founded by Sultan Ahmad Shah on 24 Oc ...

(DSAP) - Dato' (2009)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puad Zarkashi, Puad Living people Members of the Dewan Rakyat Members of the Dewan Negara Alumni of the University of Hull United Malays National Organisation politicians 1957 births People from Johor Commanders of the Order of Meritorious Service Malaysian people of Malay descent Malaysian Muslims Malaysian people of Banjar descent 21st-century Malaysian politicians