Wan Saifulruddin bin Wan Jan ( ms, وان سيفرودين بن الوان جان, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; born 20 June 1975), better known as Wan Saiful Wan Jan, 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 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 of ...

(MP) for Tasek Gelugor since November 2022. He is a member of the

Malaysian United Indigenous Party The Malaysian United Indigenous Party ( ms, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia), abbreviated BERSATU or PPBM, is a nationalist political party in Malaysia. The party was preceded by the United Indigenous Association of Malaysia (). It is a major c ...

(BERSATU), a component party of the opposition

Perikatan Nasional The National Alliance ( ms, Perikatan Nasional; 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 coalition was pr ...

(PN) coalition. Wan Saiful joined BERSATU in February 2018, which at the time was a component party of the opposition

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) coalition. When PH formed the government after the

2018 Malaysian general election The 2018 Malaysian General Election, formally known as the 14th Malaysian General Election (), was held on Wednesday, 9 May 2018, for members of the 14th Parliament of Malaysia. At stake were all 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat (the legislature' ...

, Wan Saiful took the post of Special Advisor to the Minister of Education

Maszlee Malik Maszlee bin Malik (Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) is a Malaysian people, Malaysian politician who served as the Minister of Education (Malaysia), Minister of Education in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration under former Prime Minister Mahathir Moh ...

from May to November 2018. Wan Saiful served as the Strategy and Policy Bureau Deputy Chairman of BERSATU from March 2018 to August 2020 and its Information Chief from August 2020 to his resignation in February 2023. He also served as Chairman of the

Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional National Higher Education Fund Corporation ( ms, Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional), abbreviated PTPTN, is an authority responsible for giving study loans to students pursuing tertiary education in Malaysia. This agency is under Min ...

(PTPTN) from June 2018 after the resignation of

Shamsul Anuar Nasarah Shamsul Anuar bin Nasarah ( Jawi: شمس الأنوار بن نصرة; born 1 June 1966) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration under Prime Minister Anwar Ib ...

following collapse of 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 in May 2018 thanks to its defeat in the 2018 general election to June 2022.

Corporate career

Before joining politics, Wan Saiful was

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

(CEO) of the

Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) is a Malaysian think tank dedicated to promoting solutions to public policy challenges. It was founded on 8 February 2010. IDEAS is headquartered at Jalan Hang Lekir, Kuala Lumpur. His ...

(IDEAS) co-founded by YAM Tunku Zain Al-'Abidin ibni Tuanku Muhriz, the son of the

Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan Yamtuan, also known officially as Yang di-Pertuan Besar and unofficially as Grand Ruler, is the royal title of the ruler of the Malaysian state of Negeri Sembilan. The Grand Ruler of Negeri Sembilan is elected by a council of ruling chiefs in the ...

, Tuanku Muhriz ibni Almarhum Tuanku Munawir.

Political career

Wan Saiful ran for election in the

, contesting 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 ...

parliamentary seat for the Pakatan Harapan coalition (appearing on the ballot under the

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 ...

symbol). Wan Saiful's opponents were Awang Hashim of the Idea of Peace (PAS),

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 ...

of the Barisan Nasional (UMNO) and Abdul Malik. Manaf, an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

candidate. In the four-cornered contest, Wan Saiful only got 14,901 votes, the third highest after Awang Hashim and Othman Abdul. Wan Saiful then won the Tasek Gelugor parliamentary seat in the

2022 Malaysian general election The 2022 Malaysian general election, formally the 15th Malaysian general election (GE15; Malay: ''Pilihan raya umum ke-15''), was held on Saturday, 19 November 2022 to elect the 222 members of the Dewan Rakyat in the 15th Parliament of Malaysia ...

, winning 46% of the vote in a five-cornered fight.

Controversies

On 21 February 2023, Wan Saiful was charged with corruption related to the Jana Wibawa programme.The next day, he resigned as the BERSATU Information Chief and it was accepted by BERSATU President

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 ...

. He appealed to the public not to link him with the "court cluster" (referring to

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, ...

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi Dato' Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid bin Hamidi ( ms, أحمد زاهد بن حميدي, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; born 4 January 1953) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the 11th and 14th Deputy Prime Minister from July 2015 to M ...

and others who were facing court charges) in the government led by Prime Minister

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 ...

Election results

Honours

* : **

Companion of the Order of Loyalty to Tuanku Muhriz (DTM) (2015) * : ** MY-FED Darjah Mahkota Wilayah - Knight Commander - PMW

Commander of the

Order of the Territorial Crown 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 ...

(PMW) – Datuk (2021)

References

{{Authority control People from Kedah 1975 births Living people Malaysian United Indigenous Party politicians