Ahmad Zakiyuddin bin Abdul Rahman (born 8 December 1958) is a Malaysian

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

who served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Penang I and Member of the

Penang State Executive Council The Penang State Executive Council is the executive branch of the Penang state government. It is headed by the chief minister, who is appointed by the governor, Penang's head of state. The council also comprises between four and ten other member ...

(EXCO) in the

Pakatan Harapan Pakatan Harapan (PH; stylised as HARAPAN; ) is a Malaysian Parliamentary group, political coalition consisting of Centre-left politics, centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has led ...

(PH) state administration under Chief Minister

Chow Kon Yeow Chow Kon Yeow ( zh, s=曹观友, t=曹觀友, p=Cáo Guānyǒu, c=, poj=Chô Kuan-iú; born 14 November 1958) is a Malaysian politician, lawyer and journalist who has served as the 5th Chief Minister of Penang since May 2018, Member of the P ...

and Member of the

Penang State Legislative Assembly The Penang State Legislative Assembly is the legislature of the Malaysian state of Penang. It is a unicameral institution, consisting of a total of 40 elected lawmakers representing single-member constituencies throughout Penang. The state legis ...

(MLA) for Pinang Tunggal from May 2018 to August 2023. He has served as Chairman of the Penang Islamic Religious Council (MAINPP) since January 2021. He also served as the Deputy Chairman of MAINPP from January 2018 to his promotion to the chairmanship in January 2021. He is a member of the People's Justice Party (PKR), a component party of the PH and formerly PR coalitions. Prior to his political career, Ahmad Zakiyuddin had been an engineer by profession; he is a registered member of the

Board of Engineers Malaysia The Board of Engineers Malaysia ( (LJM), abbrev: BEM) is a federal statutory body constituted under the Registration of Engineers Act 1967 (Act 138) (REA 1967) with perpetual succession and a common seal. It was inaugurated on 23rd August 1972. ...

as a professional civil engineer with a practising certificate.

Education

Ahmad Zakiyuddin received his secondary education at SMS Sultan Mohamad Jiwa in the town of

Sungai Petani Sungai Petani ( abbr. Sg. Petani or SP) is a city in Kuala Muda District, Kedah, Malaysia. The population of the municipal area of Sungai Petani is larger than Kedah's state capital, Alor Setar. It is located about 55 km south of Alor Set ...

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman (Islam), Aman (دار الأمان; Arabic for 'The Safe Abode') and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of ...

. He then furthered his studies at the

University of Salford The University of Salford is a Public university, public research university in Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford, Greater Manchester, England, west of Manchester city centre. The Royal Technical Institute, Salford, which opened in 1896, be ...

, where he completed his

A-Levels The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

and pursued a tertiary course in civil engineering.

Engineering career

After graduating from the

, Ahmad Zakiyuddin worked in the

Malaysian Public Works Department The Malaysian Public Works Department (; Jawi: ) is the federal government department in Malaysia under Ministry of Works Malaysia (MOW) which is responsible for construction and maintenance of public infrastructure in West Malaysia and Labu ...

(JKR) for 10 years. He was involved with numerous infrastructural projects, such as the township of Bandar Bertam Perdana in Northern Seberang Perai, as well as tertiary institutes and mosques in Southern Seberang Perai.

Political career

Ahmad Zakiyuddin's first foray into politics as an ordinary member of the People's Justice Party (PKR) came in the

2013 Penang state election The 13th Penang election was held on 5 May 2013. Polling took place in 40 constituencies throughout the Penang, State of Penang, with each electing a State Assemblyman to the Penang State Legislative Assembly. The election was conducted by the El ...

. He contested the Pinang Tunggal state constituency and lost in a straight fight against Roslan Saidin of

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 ...

(BN). In the

2018 Penang state election The 14th Penang election was held on 9 May 2018 to elect the State Assemblymen of the 14th Penang State Legislative Assembly, the legislature of the States and federal territories of Malaysia, Malaysian state of Penang. The legislature had been ...

, Ahmad Zakiyuddin once again went up against Roslan Saidin, the incumbent State Assemblyman for Pinang Tunggal. This time he emerged victorious, winning the constituency by a slim margin of 127 votes, despite facing a three-cornered tussle for the seat. Following his electoral win, Ahmad Zakiyuddin was appointed as the Deputy Chief Minister I of Penang by the state's

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

. Ahmad Zakiyuddin assumed office as the Deputy Chief Minister I on 16 May, succeeding his party colleague,

Mohd Rashid Hasnon Mohd Rashid bin Hasnon ( Jawi: محمد راشد بن حسنون; born 2 January 1960) is a Malaysian politician who served as Deputy Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat I under former Speakers Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof and Azhar Azizan Harun from Ju ...

, who became the elected Member of Parliament for

Batu Pahat The Batu Pahat District is a district in the state of Johor, Malaysia. It lies southeast of Muar, southwest of Kluang, northwest of Pontian, south of Segamat and Tangkak District. The capital of the district is Bandar Penggaram. Geograph ...

in Johor.

Election results

Honours

* : **

MY-PEN Order of the Defender of State - Commander - DGPN

Commander of the

Order of the Defender of State The Order of the Defender of State () is the sole order of chivalry of the state of Penang which was constituted in 1967 by then Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Dato' Seri Utama Raja Uda Raja Muhammad to recognize eminent contributions of individuals t ...

(DGPN) – Dato' Seri (2023) ** MY-PEN Order of the Defender of State - Companion - DMPN

Companion of the

(DMPN) – Dato' (2018) ** MY-PEN Order of the Defender of State - Officer - DSPN

Officer of the

(DSPN) – Dato' (2015)

References