Dato Sri

Haji Hajji ( ar, الحجّي; sometimes spelled Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. It is also often used to refer to an elder, since it ...

Fadillah bin Haji Yusof ( Jawi: فضيلة بن يوسف; born 17 April 1962) 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 lawyer currently serving as

Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia The deputy prime minister of Malaysia ( ms, Timbalan Perdana Menteri Malaysia; ms, تيمبلن ڤردان منتري مليسيا, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is the second-highest political office in Malaysia. There have been 15 ...

, and Minister of Plantation and Commodities since 2022. He has been 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

Petra Jaya Petra Jaya is a suburb of Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. This suburb was named after sixth Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Yahya Petra of Kelantan (1975-1979). History The suburb was founded in the 1970s by Sarawak chief minister at that time named ...

since March 2004. He is the first DPM from

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

, one of the

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...

states in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and the second DPM not from 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) after

Wan Azizah Wan Ismail Wan Azizah binti Wan Ismail ( Jawi: وان عزيزة بنت وان إسماعيل; born 3 December 1952) is a Malaysian politician who is the spouse of Anwar Ibrahim, the current Prime Minister of Malaysia. She also served as the 12th Depu ...

from 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). Previously, he served as Senior Minister in charge of Works and Minister of Works for the third term 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 and the

(MP) for

since March 2004. He served as the Senior Minister in charge of Infrastructure Development and Minister of Works for the second term in the 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 August 2021 and for the first term in

(BN) administration under former Prime Minister Najib Razak from May 2013 to May 2018, Chair of the Science, Innovation and Environment Select Committee, one of only two

select committees Select or SELECT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Select'' (album), an album by Kim Wilde * ''Select'' (magazine), a British music magazine * ''MTV Select'', a television program * ''Select Live'', New Zealand's C4 music program ...

led by an opposition MP from December 2019 to his reappointment as a Minister in March 2020. Fadillah is a member of

Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB; en, United Bumiputera Heritage Party) is a right-wing political party in Malaysia. It is currently the largest political party in Sarawak. Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu was formed from the combination o ...

(PBB), a component party of the

Gabungan Parti Sarawak The Sarawak Parties Alliance ( Malay: ''Gabungan Parti Sarawak''; abbrev: GPS) is a Sarawak-based national political alliance in Malaysia. It was established in 2018 by four former Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties operating solely in S ...

(GPS) coalition. He is also the Parliamentary Whip of GPS and has served as Senior Vice President of PBB since 2017. He was the Youth Chief of PBB from 2007 to 2017.

Early life and education

Fadillah was born on 17 April 1962 to Yusof Merais and Dayang Rosnah Abang Madeli. He is the ninth child of 14 siblings. Fadillah's father, Yusof Merais, was a community activist during the era of the anti-cession of Sarawak to the British colonials in 1946. He was imprisoned twice, including when he was implicated in the assassination of British Governor Duncan Stewart in

Sibu Sibu (; Hokchew Romanized: ''Sĭ-bŭ'') is a landlocked city in the central region of Sarawak. It is the capital of Sibu District in Sibu Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. The city is located on the island of Borneo and covers an area of . It i ...

in 1949. He was a friend of

Rosli Dhobi Rosli Dhobi (18 March 1932 – 2 March 1950) was a Sarawakian nationalist from Sibu of mixed Malay-Melanau descent during the British crown colony era in that state. He was a member leader of the Rukun 13, an active organisation in the anti-c ...

, who assassinated Stewart. Yusof had participated in the Malay Youth Movement, which opposed the handover of Sarawak to the British, and he was also involved in the Black Crow group that opposed the colonial presence and demanded Sarawakian independence. After the movement was banned following the assassination of Stewart, he continued the struggle with the Sarawkian Youth Front, led by

Ahmad Zaidi Adruce Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...

. The second time he was imprisoned was during the confrontation over the

formation of Malaysia The Malaysia Agreement or the Agreement relating to Malaysia between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore (MA63) was the agreement which combined North Borneo, Sarawak, ...

in 1962. Yusof died at the age of 91 in 2018. Fadillah attended St. Mary's Primary School in

and Panglima Bukit Gantang Secondary School in Parit Buntar for his secondary education. In 1986, he pursued a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

(LLB) degree in Civil and Sharia at

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 ...

Early career

Fadillah became a lawyer after obtaining a LLB. In 1989, he joined politics as a member of

(PBB), which at that time was a component party of

(BN) coalition.

Political career

Fadillah first ran for parliament in the 11th Malaysian general election, having previously been an official in

(PBB) and a lawyer. He won the election for the seat of Petra Jaya. After being re-elected in the 12th Malaysian general election, Fadillah was appointed Deputy Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. After the 13th Malaysian general election, Fadillah was promoted to full minister as Minister of Works under the new Cabinet line-up of Prime Minister Najib Razak. Following the defeat of

(BN) in the 14th Malaysian general election, Fadillah was made chief whip of the opposition

Sarawak Parties Alliance The Sarawak Parties Alliance ( Malay: ''Gabungan Parti Sarawak''; abbrev: GPS) is a Sarawak-based national political alliance in Malaysia. It was established in 2018 by four former Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties operating solely in ...

(GPS) in the

House of Representatives of Malaysia The Dewan Rakyat (English: 'House of Representatives'; ) is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament, the federal legislature of Malaysia. The chamber and its powers are established by Article 44 of the Constitution of Malaysia. The Dewan R ...

Deputy Prime Minister

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 ...

, Fadillah managed to retain his seat this time with a larger majority. After the elections, no party obtained a majority to form the government at the federal level, so the

Yang di-Pertuan Agong The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The o ...

suggested that a

unity government A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nat ...

be formed, and eventually Anwar Ibrahim was appointed to lead it on 24 November 2022. In a cabinet announcement on 2 December 2022, Fadillah was appointed

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 ...

together with

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 t ...

. At the same time, he was appointed Minister of Plantation and Commodities. Fadillah is the first person from

to hold the country's second highest political post since the

, making his appointment to the office a historic one. Sarawak is one of the

East Malaysia East Malaysia (), or the Borneo States, also known as Malaysian Borneo, is the part of Malaysia on and near the island of Borneo, the world's third-largest island. Near the coast of Sabah is a small archipelago called Labuan. East Malaysia li ...

n states.

Personal life

Fadillah married Ruziah Mohd Tahir. The couple has five children.

Election results

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* : ** Commander of the Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak (PGBK) – Datuk (2010) ** MY-SAR Order of the Star of Sarawak - 2 ribbon PNBS -JBS-PBS-ABS-BBS

Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of Sarawak (PNBS) – Dato Sri (2022) * : ** MY-PAH Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang - Grand Knight - SSAP

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 (2013) * : ** MY-MAL Exalted Order of Malacca

Grand Commander of the

Exalted Order of Malacca ''Exalted'' is a high fantasy tabletop role-playing game originally published by White Wolf Publishing in July 2001. The game is currently in its third edition. It was originally created by Robert Hatch, Justin Achilli and Stephan Wieck, and w ...

(DGSM) – Datuk Seri (2014)

Notes

References

External links

Fadillah Yusof
on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fadillah, Yusof 1962 births Living people 20th-century Malaysian lawyers 21st-century Malaysian politicians Commanders of the Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak Deputy Prime Ministers of Malaysia Government ministers of Malaysia Knights Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak Malaysian Muslims Malaysian people of Malay descent Members of the Dewan Rakyat Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu politicians People from Sarawak University of Malaya alumni