Dato' Datuk (or its variant Dato or Datu) is a Malay title commonly used in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, as well as a traditional title by Minangkabau people in West Sumatra, Indonesia. The title of the wife of Datuk is Datin. Origin The oldes ...

Johari bin Abdul ( Jawi: جوهري بن عبد; born 25 May 1955) 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 ...

who has served as the 11th

Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat The Speaker of the House of Representatives ( ms, Yang di-Pertua Dewan Rakyat) is the highest-ranking presiding officer of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia. He is responsible for convening sessions of the Dewan Raky ...

since December 2022. He served as the State Leader of the Opposition of

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman and historically as Queda, is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km2, and it consists of the mainland ...

from October 2022 and Member of the

Kedah State Legislative Assembly The Kedah State Legislative Assembly ( ms, Dewan Undangan Negeri Kedah) is the state legislature of the Malaysian state of Kedah. It is a unicameral institution, consisting of a total of 36 lawmakers representing single-member constituencies thro ...

(MLA) for Gurun from May 2018 to his resignations in December 2022, 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 Sungai Petani from March 2008 and Chairman 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 ...

Backbenchers Club (PHBBC) from August 2018 to November 2022. He is a member of 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 ...

(PKR), a component party of the

(PH) coalition.

Early life and education

Johari bin Abdul was born in Tikam Batu, Sungai Petani,

, Federation of Malaya. His uncle, Datuk Haji Shuaib bin Haji Lazim was a prominent political figure of UMNO in Sungai Petani and was once appointed as senator in Dewan Negara from April 1985 until July 1991. He went to Tikam Batu High School and Ibrahim High School, Sungai Petani before further his studies to

University of 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 ...

. He received

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

(BA) from

. He has a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

(MA) in Strategic Studies from the

University of Lancaster , mottoeng = Truth lies open to all , established = , endowment = £13.9 million , budget = £317.9 million , type = Public , city = Bailrigg, City of Lancaster , country = England , coor = , campus = Bailrigg , faculty = ...

. He also attended to National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN) to become the Administrative and Diplomatic Officer (PTD).

Early career

He was appointed the officer in

Kuala Lumpur City Hall The Kuala Lumpur City Hall ( ms, Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur, abbreviated DBKL) is the city council which administers the city of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. This council was established after the city was officially granted city status on 1 Feb ...

(DBKL) and Public Service Department Malaysia (JPA). Then, he served as director of the investment department for Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia (YADIM). He also served as director of the

National Civics Bureau The National Civics Bureau ( ms, Biro Tata Negara), abbreviated BTN, was an agency of the Malaysian previous ruling government under Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition in the Prime Minister's Department. It was established in 1974 as the Youth Res ...

(BTN).

Political career

He was elected as the MP for Sungai Petani in the 2008 general election, defeating Minister of Information

Zainuddin Maidin Tan Sri Zainuddin bin Maidin ( Jawi: زين الدين بن ميدين; ‎26 June 1939 – 14 December 2018) was a Malaysian politician and the former Information Minister in the Malaysian cabinet representing United Malays National Org ...

from the ruling

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) coalition and re-elected in the

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

and 2018 general elections. He was also elected as the MLA for Gurun in the 2018 general election, defeating Leong Yong Kong from the ruling BN coalition. He has also served as the State Chairman of PH of

from March 2020 until September 2022.

Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat

A week before the first session of the 15th Dewan Rakyat, he vacated his seat for Gurun in the Kedah State Legislative assembly. This was then followed by his nomination to the position of the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat by the Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. He won the vote by 147 to 74 to become the 11th Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat.

Personal life

He is married and has 8 children, including Mohammed Taufiq Johari, a

doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

and who has succeeded him as the member of parliament for Sungai Petani in the

2022 general election The following elections are scheduled to occur in 2022. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2022 United Nations Security Council election * 2022 national electoral calendar * 2022 local ...

. The others are Mohammed Iqbal Johari and Mohammed Firdaus Johari, both of them who are

businessmen A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for the ...

. Nurul Huda Johari, Nur Fahimah Johari and Suraya Johari, who three of them are

dentists A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofacial comp ...

and Muhammad Ibrahim Johari who are

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

. The youngest one is Muhammad Yusuf Johari.

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* : ** Knight Companion of the

Order of Loyalty to the Royal House of Kedah The Illustrious Order of Loyalty to the Royal House of Kedah (Bahasa Melayu: ''Darjah Yang Mulia Setia di-Raja'') is an honorific order of the Sultanate of Kedah History It was founded by Sultan Abdul Halim of Kedah on 21 September 1973. Cl ...

(DSDK) – Dato' (2009)

Election results

References

Living people 1955 births People from Kedah Malaysian people of Malay descent Malaysian Muslims People's Justice Party (Malaysia) politicians Members of the Kedah State Legislative Assembly Members of the Dewan Rakyat Alumni of Lancaster University 21st-century Malaysian politicians Speakers of the Dewan Rakyat {{Malaysia-politician-stub