Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz
Malaysian politician and diplomat From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mohamed Nazri bin Abdul Aziz (Jawi: محمد نظري بن عبدالعزيز; born 15 May 1954) is a Malaysian politician and barrister who most recently served as Malaysian Ambassador to the United States from February 2023 to February 2025.
Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz | |
|---|---|
| محمد نظري عبدالعزيز | |
Nazri in 2023 | |
| 17th Malaysian Ambassador to the United States | |
| In office 9 February 2023 – 8 February 2025 | |
| Monarchs | Abdullah Ibrahim |
| Prime Minister | Anwar Ibrahim |
| Preceded by | Azmil Mohd Zabidi |
| Minister of Tourism and Culture | |
| In office 16 May 2013 – 9 May 2018 | |
| Monarchs | Abdul Halim Muhammad V |
| Prime Minister | Najib Razak |
| Deputy | Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (2015–2018) |
| Preceded by | Ng Yen Yen (Tourism) Rais Yatim (Culture) |
| Succeeded by | Mohammadin Ketapi as Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture |
| Constituency | Padang Rengas |
| Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Legal Affairs | |
| In office 27 March 2004 – 15 May 2013 | |
| Monarchs | Sirajuddin Mizan Zainal Abidin Abdul Halim |
| Prime Minister | Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Najib Razak |
| Deputy | M. Kayveas (2004–2008) Hasan Malek (2008–2009) Liew Vui Keong (2009–2013) Murugiah Thopasamy (2009–2011) |
| Preceded by | Rais Yatim |
| Succeeded by | Nancy Shukri Shahidan Kassim |
| Constituency | Padang Rengas |
| Minister of Entrepreneur Development | |
| In office 15 December 1999 – 26 March 2004 | |
| Monarchs | Salahuddin Sirajuddin |
| Prime Minister | Mahathir Mohamad Abdullah Ahmad Badawi |
| Deputy | Mohd Khalid Mohd Yunos (2002–2004) |
| Preceded by | Mustapa Mohamed |
| Succeeded by | Mohamed Khaled Nordin as Minister of Entrepreneur and Co-operative Development |
| Constituency | Chenderoh |
| Deputy Minister of Finance I | |
| In office 12 November 1996 – 14 December 1999 | |
| Monarchs | Ja'afar Salahuddin |
| Prime Minister | Mahathir Mohamad |
| Minister | Anwar Ibrahim (1996–1998) Mahathir Mohamad (1998–1999) Mustapa Mohamed (1998–1999) Daim Zainuddin (1999) |
| Preceded by | Affifudin Omar |
| Succeeded by | Shafie Salleh |
| Constituency | Chenderoh |
| Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department | |
| In office 8 May 1995 – 12 November 1996 | |
| Monarch | Ja'afar |
| Prime Minister | Mahathir Mohamad |
| Minister | Abang Abu Bakar Abang Mustapha |
| Preceded by | Suleiman Mohamed Wong See Wah |
| Succeeded by | Ibrahim Ali |
| Constituency | Chenderoh |
| Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Padang Rengas | |
| In office 21 March 2004 – 19 November 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Azahari Hasan (PN–BERSATU) |
| Majority | 5,563 (2004) 1,749 (2008) 2,230 (2013) 2,548 (2018) |
| Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Chenderoh | |
| In office 25 April 1995 – 21 March 2004 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Majority | 11,793 (1995) 3,990 (1999) |
| Faction represented in Dewan Rakyat | |
| 1995–2022 | Barisan Nasional |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mohamed Nazri bin Abdul Aziz 15 May 1954 Kuala Kangsar, Perak, Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) |
| Citizenship | Malaysian |
| Political party | United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) |
| Other political affiliations | Barisan Nasional (BN) |
| Education | Malay College Kuala Kangsar |
| Alma mater | Lincoln's Inn (LLB) |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Barrister |
He was also the Minister of Tourism and Culture from May 2013 to May 2018, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of legal affairs from March 2004 to May 2013, Minister of Entrepreneur Development from December 1999 to March 2004, Deputy Minister of Finance I from November 1996 to December 1999, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department from May 1995 to November 1996 and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Padang Rengas from March 2004 to November 2022.[1]
Early life and education
Mohamed Nazri bin Abdul Aziz was born in Kuala Kangsar, Perak, Malaysia. He is the alumnus of Malay College Kuala Kangsar. He has an educational background in law and is qualified as a barrister of Lincoln's Inn.
Political career
Summarize
Perspective
Nazri was described as the hatchetman for then prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi by Mahathir Mohamad.[2]
In 2009, a photo of a woman and a man, alleged to be Nazri, in a compromising position was posted on a blog. Nazri refused to comment when contacted by the media but politicians close to him denied that it was Nazri in the photo.[3]
In 2010, he came out openly in the defence of Prime Minister Najib's 1Malaysia policy, saying that he is a "Malaysian first and a Malay next". This was an inverse of then deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin's statement that he was Malay first and Malaysian second.[2]
In 2016, he was criticised for his decision of threatening to stop tourism funding from his ministry to Sabah and Sarawak if both the states did not implement a proposed tourism service tax fee of between RM5 and RM30 on each hotel room booking.[4]
Following criticism over his tourism tax fee plan by Sarawak State Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, Nazri responded by referring to the Karim as a “greenhorn” and “behaving like a gangster”.[5] His response received backlash from other government-allied parties.[6][7] As a result of his comment, the Sarawak state government made a decision to withdraw their participation from Tourism Malaysia.[8]
Nazri has called for the seasonal flooding in Kelantan to be turned into tourist attractions on two occasions, eliciting backlash.[9][10]
In 2019, Nazri questioned the appointment of non-Muslims to the posts of Attorney General, Chief Justice and Finance Minister during a campaign speech, describing it as a threat to the position of Malays in the country. He also warned non-Bumiputeras not to question the special rights afforded to the Malay population, using vernacular schools as an example of special rights given to non-Malays. He further stated that if non-Malays wanted to abolish the special rights afforded to the Malay population, vernacular schools would need to be closed to make it fair.[11] When questioned about his statement on closing vernacular schools by media, he claimed to have been taken out of context.[12][13]
In January 2021 during the 2020–2022 Malaysian political crisis, Nazri publicly announced that he was withdrawing his support as a member of parliament for the then-ruling Perikatan Nasional government of Muhyiddin Yassin, which the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) participated in through Barisan Nasional as a junior partner. He also stated that a majority of Barisan Nasional MPs did not want the coalition's chairman, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, as their spokesman. Amid reports that UMNO MPs were being summoned to withdraw their support for the government by August the same year, Nazri reversed his earlier decision and announced that he was in support of the incumbent administration, citing the party's general assembly's resolution to do so until the next election.[14]
Personal life
He is married and has a daughter and three sons named Ferasha Mohamed Nazri, Mohamed Ferhad Mohamed Nazri and Mohamed Nedim Mohamed Nazri. Then, he married Haflin Saiful and has a son named Jean Pierre Azize Mohamed Nazri.
In January 2021, Nazri was tested positive for COVID-19 and warded at the Hospital Raja Perempuan Zainab in Kota Baru.[15]
Election results
| Year | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Pct | Opponent(s) | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | P058 Chenderoh | Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz (UMNO) | 16,983 | 76.59% | Saidin Mat Piah (S46) | 5,190 | 23.41% | 23,141 | 11,793 | 67.31% | ||
| 1999 | Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz (UMNO) | 13,374 | 58.77% | Hamzah Mohd Zain (keADILan) | 9,384 | 41.23% | 23,397 | 3,990 | 64.77% | |||
| 2004 | P061 Padang Rengas | Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz (UMNO) | 9,214 | 65.74% | Mohd Zolkafly Yahaya (PKR) | 4,442 | 34.26% | 18,132 | 5,563 | 72.93% | ||
| 2008 | Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz (UMNO) | 9,830 | 54.88% | Alias Zenon (PKR) | 8,081 | 45.12% | 18,350 | 1,749 | 75.21% | |||
| 2013 | Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz (UMNO) | 13,005 | 54.69% | Meor Ahmad Isharra Ishak (PKR) | 10,775 | 45.31% | 24,230 | 2,230 | 84.96% | |||
| 2018 | Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz (UMNO) | 10,491 | 41.50% | Ejazi Yahaya (PKR) | 7,943 | 31.42% | 25,698 | 2,548 | 82.91% | |||
| Mohd Azalan Mohd Radzi (PAS) | 6,847 | 27.08% | ||||||||||
| Ahmad Affandi Fairuz (KITA) | 1,380 | 16.07% | ||||||||||
Honours
Malacca :
Companion Class I of the Exalted Order of Malacca (DMSM) – Datuk (1993)[22]
Perak :
Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Perak State Crown (SPMP) – Dato' Seri (2000)[22]
Pahang :
Grand Knight of the Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang (SSAP) – Dato' Sri (2008)[22][23]
Kelantan :
Knight Commander of the Order of the Life of the Crown of Kelantan (DJMK) – Dato' (2011)[22][24]
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References
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