Muhammad bin Muhammad Taib ( Jawi: محمد بن محمد طيب; born 29 July 1945), also fondly known as Mat Taib and also Mat Tyson, 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 who currently is a member of

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 major component of

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) coalition. He was the former Menteri Besar of

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 ...

and the former Rural and Regional Development Minister. Muhammad was also the former UMNO vice-president.

Early life and education

Born in Kampung Sungai Manggis, Kuala Kalumpang,

Hulu Selangor Hulu Selangor is a district in Selangor, Malaysia. It contains the towns of Serendah, Batang Kali and Kuala Kubu Bharu. Its principal town is Kuala Kubu Bharu. The district is located in the northeastern part of Selangor and borders the state ...

, he was of Minangkabau descent from

Rao __NOTOC__ Rao may refer to: Geography * Rao, West Sumatra, one of the districts of West Sumatra, Indonesia * Råö, a locality in Kungsbacka Municipality, Halland County, Sweden Transport * Dr. Leite Lopes–Ribeirão Preto State Airport , IAT ...

, West Sumatera. He went to an English Primary School in

Kuala Kubu Baru Kuala Kubu Bharu (also spelt Kuala Kubu Baru, Kuala Kubu Bahru or Kuala Kubu Baharu; abbreviated to KKB), is the district capital of Hulu Selangor District, Selangor, Malaysia. It is located 60 km north of Kuala Lumpur. In 1883, the Sung ...

. Muhammad is a graduate from

Universiti Malaya The University of Malaya ( ms, Universiti Malaya, UM; abbreviated as UM or informally the Malayan University) is a public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest and highest ranking Malaysian institution of highe ...

with a first-class degree in History and Malay studies, and was also a former teacher at SMK Kuala Kubu Baru.

Political career

The political veteran joined UMNO in 1964, and quickly rose within its ranks to be appointed as Selangor Umno deputy state liaison committee chief and elected UMNO vice-president. In 1993, Muhammad and two other top party leaders then -

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 Muhyiddin Yassin - won the vice-presidency after they joined

Anwar Ibrahim Anwar bin Ibrahim ( ms, انور بن ابراهيم, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset, IPA: ; born 10 August 1947) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia since November 2022. He served as the 12 ...

who won the deputy presidency uncontested; forming Vision Team (''Team Wawasan'') to face the UMNO internal party election. Muhammad was former Selangor state assemblyman of Batang Kali constituency for four terms, winning in the general elections of

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

and

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

. He served as Menteri Besar of Selangor from 1986 to 1997. However, he was forced to resign as Selangor Menteri Besar in April 1997 after he was charged in Australia over currency irregularities involving more than $A1.2 million (RM2.9 million). In 2006, he was appointed as a

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 ...

in the

Dewan Negara The Dewan Negara (English language, English: Senate; Literal translation, lit. "State Council") is the upper house of the Parliament of Malaysia, consisting of 70 senators of whom 26 are elected by the State legislative assemblies of Malaysia, ...

, the

upper house An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...

of the Parliament of Malaysia. This allowed him to be appointed as a minister by 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 ...

in March 2008. He contested the post of UMNO deputy president in March 2009 but came out second to Muhyiddin Yassin. His stint in the Cabinet ended after a reshuffling by new Prime Minister Najib Razak in April 2009. On 14 April 2013, Muhammad joined opposition

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 ...

(PAS), a component party of

Pakatan Rakyat The People's Alliance ( ms, Pakatan Rakyat; abbrev: PR) was an informal Malaysian political coalition and successor to Barisan Alternatif (BA). The political coalition was formed by the People's Justice Party (PKR), Democratic Action Party (DAP ...

(PR) then. He was formally introduced by the party on 22 April 2013, just two days after the 13th General Election nomination day to avoid allegations that he took the step to be nominated in the general election. PAS is the only party that can lead Malaysia towards Islam, Muhammad said. In previous statements Muhammad was a strong critic for the Pakatan Rakyat led state government of Selangor. He stated that Pakatan Rakyat Selangor, under the helm of the Menteri Besar of Selangor

Khalid Ibrahim Abdul Khalid bin Ibrahim ( ms, عبدالخالد بن إبراهيم, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 14 December 1946 – 31 July 2022) was a Malaysian politician who served as the 14th Menteri Besar of Selangor from 2008 to 2014. He ...

was losing grip of the state. He even stated that he believes that Saiful Bukhari Azlan, the accuser of Anwar Ibrahim sexual escapades was the real victims and no one is helping Saiful Bukhari. On 10 September 2015, Muhammad quit PAS and joined People's Justice Party (PKR) of the

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) opposition coalition. On 17 September 2017, Muhammad rejoined UMNO announced by Najib Razak in a special media conference after leaving it to be with the opposition for four years.

Controversies

In 1987, Muhammad when he was still the Menteri Besar angered the Sultan of Selangor when it was found that he had secretly married the ruler's daughter Tengku Puteri Zahariah in

Sungai Golok Su-ngai Kolok ( th, สุไหงโกลก, ms, Sungai Golok) is a border town, subdistrict, and district on the Malaysia-Thailand Border in Narathiwat Province, Thailand. It is one of the largest and most prosperous districts in Narathiwa ...

, Thailand. The late sultan later accepted his apologies. In 1997, Muhammad was forced to resign after he was charged in Australia with making false currency declarations after millions of dollars were found in his suitcase as he was leaving the country. However, he was found not guilty, after claiming he could not understand the declaration forms which were in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. Somehow, in a later development, an investigative committee found that the court had erred in its judgment. The prosecution at Brisbane Federal Court on 19 August 1997 as for his failure to declare bringing over A$5,000. He and his wife stay a few weeks in Brisbane and wishing to build a luxury house on a 4,500 hectare land at

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. After that he wish to fly to New Zealand. The land at Sovereign Island was registered under his wife's name Asbi Rohani Binti Asnan which was bought a year earlier for $3 million. Muhammad Taib was charged with failure to declare his assets.

Personal life

Muhammad married his first wife, Asbi Rohani Asnan, during his early teaching days in Tanjung Malim and they have four daughters and one son together. He had also married the daughter of the late Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Alhaj ibni Almarhum Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah Tengku Puteri Zahariah binti Sultan Salehuddin Abdul Aziz Shah who also known as Kuyah, but later divorced. He was given the style ''Yang Amat Mulia'' during this time and ''Yang Berhormat Mulia'' later. The couple had one son but had later divorced. He also married Dr Rodzina Hayati Tajul Ariffin, having 4 sons and a daughter together.

Election results

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* : ** Member of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (AMN) (1985) **

Commander of the

Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia The Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Setia Mahkota Malaysia) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country and awarded by the sovereign. The order was instituted on ...

(PSM) – Tan Sri (1989) * : ** MY-SEL Meritorious Service Medal - PJK

Recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal (PJK) ** MY-SEL Order of Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah - Companion - SSA

Companion of the

Order of Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

(SSA) **