Abdullah bin Md Zin ( Jawi: عبدﷲ بن مد زين; born 2 August 1946) is a former Member of the

Parliament of Malaysia The Parliament of Malaysia (; Jawi script, Jawi: ) is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives, Literal translation, lit. "People's As ...

for the

Besut Besut ( Terengganuan and Kelantanese: ''Besuk'') is a Terengganu Malay and Kelantan Malay district in the Terengganu federal state of Malaysia. It is bordered by the state of Kelantan to the north and west and the South China Sea to the east. It ...

constituency in

Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu) is a sultanate and States and federal territories of Malaysia, federal state of Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l-Iman (c ...

from 2004 to 2013, sitting as a member of the

United Malays National Organisation The United Malays National Organisation (Abbreviation, abbrev: UMNO; , PEKEMBAR) is a Conservatism, conservative, Nationalism, Malay nationalist political party in Malaysia. As the oldest national political party in the country (since its ince ...

(UMNO) in Malaysia's ruling

Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional (BN; ) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1974 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties to succeed the Alliance Party. It is the third largest political coalition with 30 seats in ...

coalition.

Early life and career

Abdullah was born on 2 August 1946 in Alor Selinsing,

Jerteh Jerteh ( Jawi: جرتيه) also spell as Jertih is the most populous town in Besut District, Terengganu, Malaysia. It has been represented by Che Mohamad Zulkifly Jusoh since 2022 in Dewan Rakyat The Dewan Rakyat (; Jawi script, Jawi: ), i ...

, Terengganu. He studied at the

Islamic University of Madinah The Islamic University of Madinah () is a public Islamic university in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Established by King Saud bin Abdulaziz in 1961, Sayy’id Abul Ala Maududi had played a significant role of establishing and running of Islamic Univers ...

, graduating in 1972 with a bachelor's degree in Islamic Studies. In 1973, he obtained a master's degree in

Syariah Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, intan ...

from

Al-Azhar University The Al-Azhar University ( ; , , ) is a public university in Cairo, Egypt. Associated with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is known as one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic ...

, Egypt, before receiving a Diploma in Education from

Ain Shams University Ain Shams University () is a public university located in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 1950, the university provides education at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels. History Ain Shams University was founded in July 1950, the third ...

. He was awarded a Doctorate of Philosophy from Kent University, England, in 1986. Abdullah became a lecturer in 1976, firstly at Kolej Islam Klang and then at the

National University of Malaysia The National University of Malaysia (, abbreviated as UKM) is a public research university located in Bandar Baru Bangi, Hulu Langat District, Selangor, Malaysia. Its teaching hospital, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC), ...

(UKM). In 1998, he was appointed the dean of the Faculty of Islamic Studies and in 1999 he became a professor. In 2000, he was appointed Deputy Rector (Academic and Research) at Kolej Universiti Islam Malaysia (KUIM) in

Nilai Nilai is a city located in the Seremban District of the state of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, located close to the border with Selangor. It is the northern suburb within the Seremban metropolitan area, as well as part of the Greater Kuala Lumpur, ...

Negeri Sembilan Negeri Sembilan (, Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Nogoghi Sombilan'', ''Nismilan''), historically spelled as Negri Sembilan, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia which lies on the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, wes ...

Politics

Abdullah resigned from his lecturing position KUIM (but took early optional compulsory retirement from civil service at 58) in order to be the

candidate for the federal parliamentary seat of

in the

2004 election The following elections occurred in the year 2004. Africa * 2004 Algerian presidential election * 2004 Botswana general election * 2004 Cameroonian presidential election * 2004 Comorian legislative election * 2004 Equatorial Guinean legislativ ...

. The seat had been held by the opposition

Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party The Malaysian Islamic Party, also known as the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party ( Malay: ''Parti Islam Se-Malaysia''; abbrev: PAS), is an Islamist political party in Malaysia. Ideologically focused on Islamic fundamentalism and Malay dominanc ...

(PAS). Abdullah won the seat, defeating PAS's

Nasharudin Mat Isa Nasharudin bin Mat Isa (born 19 October 1962) is a Malaysian politician and activist. He was former Member of the Parliament of Malaysia. He represented the constituency of Yan, Kedah, from 1999 to 2004, and the seat of Bachok, Kelantan, fr ...

. Later, Abdullah became a member of UMNO's Supreme Council and a Minister in the Department of Prime Minister

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi (, ; 26 November 1939 – 14 April 2025), also known as Pak Lah, was a Malaysian politician and civil servant who served as the fifth prime minister of Malaysia from 2003 to 2009. A member of UMNO, he was the party's ...

. After the 2008 election, he was dropped from the cabinet and in the 2009 UMNO party elections, he failed to retain a position on the party's Supreme Council. When

Najib Tun Razak Mohammad Najib bin Abdul Razak (, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2009 to 2018. In 2020, he was convicted of corruption in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, on ...

became Prime Minister in 2009, Abdullah became his Islamic religious affairs adviser. However, Abdullah did not recontest his parliamentary seat in the 2013 election, although he remained as Najib's religious adviser.

Election results

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* : **

Commander of the

Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia The Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia () is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country and awarded by the sovereign. The order was instituted on 15 April 1966 and gazetted on 30 June 1966 ...

(PSM) – Tan Sri (2013) * : ** MY-TER Order of the Crown of Terengganu - Dato Paduka - DPMT

Knight Commander of the

Order of the Crown of Terengganu The Most Distinguished Order of the Crown of Terengganu (Bahasa Melayu: ''Darjah Kebesaran Mahkota Terengganu Yang Amat Mulia'') is an honorific order of the Sultanate of Terengganu. History It was founded by Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin of Terengg ...

(DPMT) – Dato' (1996) * : ** MY-PERL Order of the Crown of Perlis - Knight Grand Commander - SPMP

Knight Grand Commander of the

Order of the Crown of Perlis Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

(SPMP) – Dato' Seri (2010)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdullah Md Zin Living people 1946 births People from Terengganu Malaysian expatriates in Saudi Arabia Islamic University of Madinah alumni Alumni of the University of Kent Al-Azhar University alumni United Malays National Organisation politicians Academic staff of the National University of Malaysia Malaysian politicians of Malay descent Malaysian Muslims Government ministers of Malaysia Malaysian expatriates in Egypt Malaysian expatriates in the United Kingdom Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia Malaysian academics Knights Commander of the Order of the Crown of Terengganu Malaysian MPs 2004–2008 Malaysian MPs 2008–2013