Syed Hamid bin Syed Jaafar Albar ( Jawi: سيد حميد بن سيد جعفر البر; ar, سيد حامد بن سيد جعفر البار '; born 15 January 1944) is a Malaysian

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...

and former

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 1st Chancellor of the

Asia e University Asia e University (AeU) is an international university in Subang Jaya, Malaysia that offers on-campus, blended and online learning mode programmes. An institution set in Asia, by Asians, and for Asia – founded by the Asia Cooperation Dialog ...

(AeU) since October 2022. He served as

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department is a member of Cabinet of Malaysia who administers a portfolio through the Prime Minister's Department. List of Ministers in the Prime Minister's Department The following individuals have been appo ...

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

and

Minister of Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

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 Ministers

Mahathir Mohamad Mahathir bin Mohamad ( ms, محاضير بن محمد, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author, and physician who served as the 4th and 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the office ...

and

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Tun Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi ( Jawi: عبد الله بن احمد بدوي; born 26 November 1939) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia from October 2003 to April 2009. He was also the sixth president of ...

from October 1990 to April 2009. He also served as

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

Kota Tinggi Kota Tinggi is a town and capital of Kota Tinggi District, Johor, Malaysia. Kota Tinggi is also the name of the district, Kota Tinggi District, where the town is situated. Kuala Sedili or Tanjung Sedili, a small fishing town located 37 km n ...

from November 1990 to May 2013. He was 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 ruling

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 ...

(PN) and formerly

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 ...

(PH) coalitions. Prior to that, he was also a member 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), a component party of the ruling BN coalition. He retired from politics in February 2022 and left UMNO for BERSATU in September 2018. He had also served as the Chairman of Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) which was already dissolved.

Early life

Syed Hamid was born in Kampung Melayu Air Hitam,

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the M ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

, to

Syed Jaafar Albar Syed Jaafar Albar ( ar, سيد جعفر بن حسن البار '; born August 21, 1914 –14 January 1977) was a Malaysian politician. His staunch defence of his political party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) – which leads ...

, an UMNO politician and former cabinet minister. Syed Hamid's father was of Hadhrami

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

descent, and migrated from Indonesia to Malaysia shortly before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He had his secondary education at

Maxwell School Maxwell School ( ms, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Maxwell) is an all-boys secondary school, located north of Kuala Lumpur. The school is believed to be the oldest school in north of Kuala Lumpur as well as one of the oldest in Kuala Lumpur and ...

before going to

Methodist Boys' School (Kuala Lumpur) , motto_translation = Pray and Work , city = Jalan Hang Jebat, 50150 , state = Kuala Lumpur , country = Malaysia , type= primary school, secondary school , religion = Christian , denomination = Methodist Church , establish ...

for his Form Six education. For his tertiary education, he read law in the Inns of Court, London and was called to the Degree of an Utter Barrister by the Honourable Society of Middle Temple in 1970. As a student in London, he set up a club for Malaysian expatriates and students. He is married with 6 children.

Political career

Syed Hamid has been active in

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 ...

in his student days, including while studying in the United Kingdom. After returning to Malaysia he became a magistrate, and then president of the

Sessions Court A Sessions Court or even known as the Court of Sessions Judge is a court of law which exists in several Commonwealth countries. A Court of Session is the highest criminal court in a district and the court of first instance for trying serious off ...

, before entering the corporate world. In 1986 he won election to UMNO's Supreme Council and entered Parliament in 1990, as the member for Kota Tinggi. He was immediately appointed as Minister for Justice, and in 1995 became the Defence Minister. In 1999, he was appointed as the Foreign Minister. In March 2008, he was appointed as the Home Minister. In April 2009, he was dropped from the Cabinet by the incoming prime minister

Najib Razak Dato' Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak ( ms, محمد نجيب بن عبد الرزاق, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 6th prime minister of Malay ...

. The previous month he had contested, but failed to win, one of UMNO's three vice-president positions at the party's general assembly. He left Parliament in 2013, deciding not to re-contest the seat of Kota Tinggi, which he had held by large margins since 1990. On 18 February 2022, he announced his retirement from politics and devotion of time to legal practice work and non-governmental organisation (NGO) activities.

Post-political career (2022–present)

Chancellor of the Asia e University (2022–present)

On 15 October 2022 during the 11th convocation ceremony of the

(AeU), Syed Hamid was appointed as its 1st Chancellor. His appointment was made based on his "vast experience in administration and management he possesses" and confidence that he would "provide AeU with the direction and leadership to further enhance its academic standing". Responding to the appointment, Syed Hamid said that it was unexpected and that he was deeply moved, humbled and touched to get the "recognition". He also described it as a "great honour and privilege".

Election results

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* : ** Member of the

Order of the Defender of the Realm The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace ...

(AMN) (1984) ** Commander of the

(PMN) – Tan Sri (2009) * : ** Most_Honourable_Order_of_the_Crown_of_Johor_-_ribbon_bar

Companion of the

Order of the Crown of Johor The Most Honourable Order of the Crown of Johor ( Malay: ''Darjah Mahkota Johor Yang Amat Mulia'') is an Order of chivalry awarded by the Sultan of Johor. It was first instituted on July 31, 1886. It is awarded in three classes: *Knight Grand Co ...

(SMJ) **

Knight Commander of the

(DPMJ) – Dato' ** Most_Honourable_Order_of_the_Crown_of_Johor_-_ribbon_bar

Knight Grand Commander of the

(SPMJ) – Dato' * : ** Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Kedah (SPMK) – Dato' Seri (2008) * : ** MY-MAL Exalted Order of Malacca

Grand Commander of the Order of Malacca (DGSM) – Datuk Seri (2007) * : ** MY-PEN Order of the Defender of State - Knight Commander - DPPN

Knight Commander of the Order of the Defender of State (DPPN) – Dato' Seri (2004) * : ** MY-SAB Order of Kinabalu - SPDK

Grand Commander of the Order of Kinabalu (SPDK) – Datuk Seri Panglima (1997)

Foreign honours

* : **

Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight f ...

(2019)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Syed Hamid Albar 1944 births Living people People from Penang Malaysian people of Malay descent Malaysian people of Yemeni descent Hadhrami people Malaysian Muslims 20th-century Malaysian lawyers Malaysian United Indigenous Party politicians Former United Malays National Organisation politicians Members of the Dewan Rakyat Government ministers of Malaysia Foreign ministers of Malaysia Defence ministers of Malaysia Home ministers of Malaysia Justice ministers of Malaysia Members of the Order of the Defender of the Realm Commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm Grand Commanders of the Order of Kinabalu Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor Knights Grand Commander of the Exalted Order of the Crown of Kedah Knights Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor Companions of the Order of the Crown of Johor