Reezal Merican bin Naina Merican (
Jawi: ; born 29 July 1972) 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 ...
and
banker
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Becaus ...
who served as the
Minister of Housing and Local Government
The Ministry of Housing and Local Government was a United Kingdom government department formed following the Second World War, covering the areas of housing and local government.
It was formed, as the Ministry of Local Government and Planning, ...
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 ...
(BN) administration under former Prime Minister
Ismail Sabri Yaakob
Malay styles and titles#State titles, Dato' Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob ( ms, اسماعيل صبري بن يعقوب, label=Jawi alphabet, Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; born 18 January 1960) is a Malaysian people, Malaysian lawyer and poli ...
from August 2021 to the collapse of the BN administration in November 2022, the
Minister of Youth and Sports in the
Perikatan Nasional
The National Alliance ( ms, Perikatan Nasional; abbreviation, abbrev: PN) is a political coalition composed of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU), Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) and Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (GERAKAN). This coa ...
(PN) administration under former Prime 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 March 2020 to the collapse of the PN administration in August 2021 and the
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 o ...
(MP) for
Kepala Batas from May 2013 after the retirement of 5th and former Prime Minister
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as the MP from politics to his electoral defeat in November 2022. He is also a member of the Supreme Council 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 ...
(UMNO). He is an ethnic
Malay of mixed
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
descent.
Before entering Parliament, Reezal worked in the bank sector. Reezal took over
Abdullah
Abdullah may refer to:
* Abdullah (name), a list of people with the given name or surname
* Abdullah, Kargı, Turkey, a village
* ''Abdullah'' (film), a 1980 Bollywood film directed by Sanjay Khan
* '' Abdullah: The Final Witness'', a 2015 Pakis ...
as the party's Division Head of Kepala Batas and as 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 ...
(BN) candidate for the parliamentary seat. Reezal won the seat in the
2013 Malaysian general election while defeated a candidate from the
Malaysian Islamic Party
The Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS; ms, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia; ms, ڤرتي إسلام سمليسيا, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is an Islamist political party in Malaysia. As the party focused on Islamic fundamentalism, PAS's ...
(PAS) by 4,176 majority of the votes.
In October 2013, he was elected to Supreme Council of
UMNO
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 ...
, the highest-ranking body of the party.
In a Cabinet reshuffle on 28 July 2015, Reezal was handpicked as
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a Cabinet (government), cabinet Minister (government), minister in charge of a sovereign state, state's foreign policy and foreign ...
by former Prime Minister
Najib Razak. Despite winning the majority to defend his seat in his parliamentary constituency, Reezal lost his Cabinet post following the results of the
2018 Malaysian general election.
Efforts
On 29 August 2015, Reezal intimidated Malaysians participating in the Bersih 4 demonstrations abroad that the Foreign Ministry would gather their information for eventual legal action against them, without even citing which law the citizen abroad violated.
Family
After first wife Ismalina Ismail and second wife Sharifah Norhaslinda which once filed for divorce with Reezal but retracted.
Election results
Honours
* :
**
![MY-PAH Order of the Crown of Pahang - Knight Companion - DIMP](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/MY-PAH_Order_of_the_Crown_of_Pahang_-_Knight_Companion_-_DIMP.svg)
Knight Companion of the
Order of the Crown of Pahang
The Esteemed Order of the Crown of Pahang ( Malay: '' Darjah Kebesaran Mahkota Pahang Yang Amat Mulia'') is a knighthood order of the Sultanate of Pahang.
History
The order was founded by Sultan Abu Bakar on 27 December 1968. It is awarded ...
(DIMP) – Dato' (2006)
**
![MY-PAH Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang - Grand Knight - SSAP](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/MY-PAH_Order_of_Sultan_Ahmad_Shah_of_Pahang_-_Grand_Knight_-_SSAP.svg)
Grand Knight 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 O ...
(SSAP) – Dato' Sri (2008)
See also
*
Kepala Batas (federal constituency)
References
1972 births
Living people
Malaysian people of Malay descent
Malaysian politicians of Indian descent
Malaysian Muslims
United Malays National Organisation politicians
Members of the Dewan Rakyat
21st-century Malaysian politicians
Ministry of Housing and Local Government (Malaysia)
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