Anifah bin Aman ( Jawi: حنيفة بن أمان @ حنيف أمان; born 16 November 1953) 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 ...

who has served as

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

since March 2023, chairman of the Labuan Corporation since June 2023, special advisor to the chief minister of Sabah Hajiji Noor on International Relations and Foreign Investments since January 2023 and the 3rd president of the Love Sabah Party (PCS) since July 2020. He served as the

minister of foreign affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

and deputy minister of primary industries in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former prime ministers Mahathir Mohamad, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Razak and former ministers Lim Keng Yaik and Peter Chin Fah Kui from December 1999 to the collapse of the BN administration in May 2018 as well as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Beaufort from November 1999 to March 2004 and for Kimanis from March 2004 to August 2019 and for Beaufort from November 1999 to March 2004. He is a member of the PCS and was 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), a component party of the BN coalition before leaving it to be an independent in September 2018 and joining PCS in 2020. He is also the younger half brother of Musa Aman, the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sabah and former chief minister of Sabah.

Personal life

Anifah is married to Siti Rubiah Abdul Samad and has three sons. He is the younger brother of former chief minister of Sabah, Musa Aman. His nephew, Yamani Hafez Musa who is Musa's son; was the MP for Sipitang (2018–2022).

Political career

Anifah was first elected to Parliament in the 1999 general election, winning the seat of Beaufort. He was immediately appointed deputy minister of primary industries in the government of Mahathir Mohamad. He shifted to, and won, the seat of Kimanis in the 2004 general election and became deputy minister for plantation industries and commodities. After winning re-election in the 2008 general election, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi appointed him as deputy transport minister. However, Anifah refused, saying he felt it was "time to make way" for someone else. Reports indicated this was the first time anyone had refused an appointment as deputy minister after the appointment had already been made public. A day later, the ''

New Straits Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as a local offshoot of Singapore-based ''The Straits Ti ...

'' reported that Anifah and another proposed deputy minister, Tengku Azlan Abu Bakar, had "thrown a tantrum ... claiming they are 'senior enough' to be made full ministers". Abdullah reportedly told them that he had "picked the best people", leading to their resignations. After Najib Razak replaced Abdullah as prime minister in 2009, Anifah was promoted from the backbench to the Cabinet as minister for foreign affairs. During Anifah's tenure as foreign minister, Malaysia won election as a non-permanent member of the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

for the 2015–2016 term. Amid retaining his Kimanis seat for the fourth consecutive term in the 2018 general election (GE14) which saw the downfall of BN's federal and state governments, Anifah announced his resignation from UMNO to be an independent MP in September 2018. On 16 August 2019, the Malaysian Election Court however has voided his win in the GE14 after the court found serious discrepancies in the conduct of the election process by the

Election Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

(EC). He decided not to contest the 2020 Kimanis by-election called to focus on the subsequent 15th General Election instead. In March 2020, a new opposition front with Anifah Aman as the president had been planned for the merger of Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (PGRS), Love Sabah Party (PCS), Parti Kerjasama Anak Negeri (Anak Negeri) and yet-to-be registered Parti Hak Sabah. However the plan fizzles out after Anifah had joined and was elected as PCS president instead in July 2020. He had become the new PCS president after winning the post uncontested during the party 2nd Biennial General Meeting (BGM) on 26 July 2020.

Special advisor to the chief minister of Sabah on international relations and foreign investments (since 2023)

On 30 January 2023, Chief Minister of Sabah Hajiji Noor appointed Anifah to a newly created position of the special advisor to the chief minister of Sabah on international relations and foreign investments. Hajiji explained that he was confident of the extensive experience of Anifah in international relations that would assist the state government to forge good ties with foreign countries and investors and the appointment would argur well with the investor-friendly policy of

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

. In response, Anifah thanked Hajiji for his confidence, gave assurance to do his best in the role, expressed his intention to establish Sabah as an investor-friendly destination, praised Hajiji of being visionary and highlighted the importance of international relations in bringing foreign investments to Sabah.

Senator (since 2023)

On 20 March 2023, Anifah was appointed to the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

as a senator.

Chairman of the Labuan Corporation (since 2023)

On 25 June 2023, Anifah was declared the new chairman of the Labuan Corporation to replace Bashir Alias. His two-year term began on 19 June 2023 and was set to end on 18 June 2025.

Election results

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* : **

Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM) – Tan Sri (2023) ** MY Pingat Pertabalan Yang di-Pertuan Agong XVII ribbon

Recipient of the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong Installation Medal * : ** MY-PAH Order of the Crown of Pahang - Knight Companion - DIMP

Knight Companion of the Order of the Crown of Pahang (DIMP) – Dato' (2004) ** MY-PAH Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang - Grand Knight - SSAP

Grand Knight of the Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang (SSAP) – Dato' Sri (2009) * : ** MY-SAB Order of Kinabalu - PGDK

Commander of the Order of Kinabalu (PGDK) – Datuk (1998) ** MY-SAB Order of Kinabalu - SPDK

Grand Commander of the Order of Kinabalu (SPDK) – Datuk Seri Panglima (2011)

Foreign honours

* : ** First Class of the Order of the Crown of Brunei (SPMB) – Dato Seri Paduka (14 August 2014)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anifah Aman 1953 births People from Keningau District Living people People from Sabah Kadazan-Dusun people Malaysian politicians of Malay descent Malaysian people of Pakistani descent Malaysian people of Bruneian descent Malaysian Muslims Leaders of political parties in Malaysia Independent politicians in Malaysia Former United Malays National Organisation politicians Government ministers of Malaysia Ministers of foreign affairs of Malaysia Alumni of the University of Buckingham Commanders of the Order of Kinabalu Grand Commanders of the Order of Kinabalu Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia Members of the Dewan Negara Malaysian MPs 1999–2004 Malaysian MPs 2004–2008 Malaysian MPs 2008–2013 Malaysian MPs 2013–2018 Malaysian MPs 2018–2022