Baddrol bin Bakhtiar (born 1 February 1988) is a Malaysian politician and former professional footballer who has served as Member of the

Kedah State Legislative Assembly The Kedah State Legislative Assembly () is the state legislature of the Malaysian state of Kedah. It is a unicameral institution, consisting of a total of 36 lawmakers representing single-member constituencies throughout the state. Members of t ...

(MLA) for Gurun since August 2023. He is a member of the

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

(PAS), a component party of the

Perikatan Nasional Perikatan Nasional (PN; ) is a Malaysian Parliamentary group, political coalition consisting of Right-wing politics, right-wing and Far-right politics, far-right political parties. It is the second largest political coalition in Dewan Rakyat w ...

(PN) coalition. He is also a former member of the Malaysia U-20, Malaysia U-23 and Malaysia national team squads as well as a former player of Kedah Darul Aman FC. He ended his football career as the captain of the Sabah FC team. Baddrol is usually employed in the right side of the midfield role, although he has often been deployed as a left-sided

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He spent most of his club career with Kedah Darul Aman (formerly known as Kedah FA) starting from 2006 until end of 2021, before signing for Sabah FC on 1 December 2021 as a free transfer. He left Sabah FC and retired from football in 2023 before venturing into politics. During the 2023 Kedah state election, he was announced as the

candidate for the Gurun state constituency.

Club career

Kedah

Baddrol began his football career with the Kedah youth team. He also was part of the Kedah's 2006

Sukma Games The Sukma Games (, lit.: Malaysian Games) is a biennial national multi-sport event involving young athletes from Malaysia's 13 states and 3 Federal Territories. The games are regulated by the National Sports Council of Malaysia, the state spo ...

team that won the silver medal. He was a regular throughout the tournament. His performance during theSukma Games attracted the interest of the Kedah Football Association management. Baddrol signed his first professional contract with Kedah in the 2005-06 season and made his debut in the 2006 Malaysia Cup away match against

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

. Baddrol established himself in Kedah's first team, competing for his spot alongside K. Soley as a

right winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

and Khyril Muhymeen on the left Nevertheless, after K. Soley left Kedah to join their local rivals,

Perlis Perlis (Kedah Malay language, Kedah Malay (Perlis dialect): ''Peghelih'') is a Negeri, state of Malaysia in the northwestern coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It is the smallest state in Malaysia by area and population. The state borders the Thai ...

, Baddrol proved himself as one of the best young talents of the Kedah's youth team system. Starting from the 2007-08 season, Baddrol became a first-team regular for Azraai Khor's squad and performed well in each match with his ability to terrorise defenders, and his pace and trickery with the ball. Baddrol played more than 400 matches and scored 123 goals in all competitions for Kedah, making him recognised as the club's all-time top scorer.

Training stints and trials

On 6 April 2008, Gifted Group and

Football Association of Malaysia The Football Association of Malaysia (commonly abbreviated as FAM; ) is the national governing body of football in Malaysia, headquartered at Wisma FAM. The FAM is also one of the founding members of both the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) a ...

selected Baddrol and his former Kedah teammate Mohd Bunyamin Umar for a two weeks' training stint with

Chelsea FC Chelsea Football Club is a professional football club based in Fulham, West London, England. The club was founded in 1905 and named after neighbouring area Chelsea. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football, pl ...

at Stamford Bridge alongside their youngsters and more senior players such as Shaun Wright-Phillips,

Tal Ben Haim Tal Ben Haim (or Tal Ben Haim I, ; born 31 March 1982) is an Israeli former professional association football, footballer who played at either centre back or right back (association football), right back. He has played for Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. ...

, Steve Sidwell and

Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (born 14 March 1979) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a Forward (association football), forward. As a player, he regularly featur ...

. In August 2011, rumours circulated that

English Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club Wigan Athletic FC offered Baddrol a trial, but this was neither denied nor confirmed by Wigan officials. The rumour would later eventually be dismissed as false.

Sabah FC

After playing for Kedah for almost 16 years, Baddrol signed for Sabah on a free transfer at the age of 33. He made his home debut on 4th April 2022 against

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 ...

. On 10 April 2022, he scored his first goal against Sarawak United of the 2022 Super League game at the

Sarawak State Stadium State Stadium (''Stadium Negeri'' in Malay) is a multi-purpose stadium in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. It is currently used mostly for football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking ...

, Sarawak. Baddrol bade his farewell to Sabah after having played his last match for the club in a 4–0 home win against Sri Pahang on 15 July 2023, a day after his departure was confirmed. He made 42 appearances and scored 15 goals in all competitions with Sabah.

International career

Baddrol Bakhtiar, alongside his teammates Abdul Hadi Abdul Hamid, Mohd Sabre Mat Abu and Mohd Khyril Muhymeen Zambri, Muhammad Shafiq Jamal and Mohd Bunyamin Umar earned their first call-up in 2005 to the Malaysia U-20 team. He made his youth international match debut in AFC Youth Championship 2006 qualifying round on 12 December 2005 against

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

. Malaysia beat Myanmar 4–2. After qualifying to the final round in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

, Baddrol however scored an own goal and Malaysia went down to

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

1–2 in their opening match on 30 October 2006. Baddrol was also a part of Malaysia U-19 squad for the 2007 Champions Youth Cup. His action in a match against Chelsea wooed the Chelsea coaching staff who gave him a chance to train at Stamford Bridge. Baddrol was called up by Malaysia U-23 national coach K.Rajagobal for

2009 Southeast Asian Games The 2009 Southeast Asian Games (, Romanization of Lao, translit. Kila phoumipak asi taven oak siang tai 2009), officially known as the 25th Southeast Asian Games, were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event hosted by Vientiane, Laos. This was the ...

in Vientiane, Laos. He scored 3 goals throughout the tournament to assist the national U-23 sides to win the gold medal for the first time after 20 years since the team won it in 1989. Baddrol was called up again by

Ong Kim Swee Datuk Ong Kim Swee () DPSM is a Malaysian football manager and former footballer, who is currently the head coach of Liga 1 club Persik Kediri. He spent most of his career playing for East Malaysian teams, notably Sarawak and Sabah during t ...

to play for

2011 Southeast Asian Games The 2011 Southeast Asian Games, () officially known as the 26th Southeast Asian Games, or the 26th SEA Games, and commonly known as Jakarta-Palembang 2011, were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held from 11 to 22 November 2011 in Jakarta and ...

squad in Jakarta, Indonesia. He was chosen as captain for the team and managed to score 3 goals throughout the tournament en route to final match against the host Indonesia which the game tied at 1-1 after extra time. During penalty shootout, Baddrol scored the decisive penalty kick and enable the team to win the gold medal twice consecutively after the last winning on 2009 SEA Games edition. He made his full international debut against

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

on 12 August 2009. He scored his first goal for the senior team in a match against

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

on 18 November 2009. He was also part of the

winning squad and managed to score a total 3 goals, 1 against the Timor Leste U-23 team and 2 in the semi-final against the Laos U-23 team. In

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games (), and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, were a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 August to 2 September 201 ...

, he was selected as one of the overage players for the Malaysia U-23 team. He captained the team throughout the tournament and create an upset in a 2–1 win over South Korea U-23 team.

Political career

Immediately after leaving Sabah FC, Baddrol returned to his home state,

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 ...

, and switched his career to politics by joining the

(PAS). Baddrol stated his purpose for joining PAS is to defend the leadership of Datuk Seri Sanusi Md Nor, the Menteri Besar of Kedah at that time. He was named as a candidate for Gurun in the 2023 Kedah state election representing the

ticket. He won and became the Gurun assemblyman.

Election results

Career statistics

Club

International

U23 International goals

Personal life

Baddrol was born in

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

and currently living in Ambangan Heights,

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 ...

. Baddrol's parents are from

, his father being a soldier in the Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (ATM).

Honours

Kedah FA Kedah Darul Aman Football Club () is a professional football club based in Alor Setar, Kedah. The team competes in the Malaysia A1 Semi-Pro League, the second tier of Malaysian football. They are the first team in the history of Malaysian footb ...

Malaysia Super League The Malaysia Super League (), known simply as the Super League (), is the men's top professional Football in Malaysia, football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnersh ...

(2): 2006–2007, 2007–2008 * FA Cup Malaysia (4):

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Malaysia Cup The Malaysia Cup (), formerly known as Malaya Cup, is an annual football tournament in Malaysia, held at the end of the calendar year. The cup was first held in 1921. Despite its prestige and popularity as the country's oldest cup tournament, i ...

(3):

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Malaysia Premier League The Malaysia Premier League () was the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia. It replaced the Liga Perdana 2 in the Malaysian football league system. The Malaysia Premier League was contested by 12 clubs. The season usually ra ...

(2): 2005–06,

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

* Malaysia Charity Shield:

;International *

SEA Games The Southeast Asian Games, commonly known as SEA Games is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with su ...

(2):

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

AFF Championship The ASEAN Championship (formerly known as the AFF Championship or AFF Cup), currently known as the ASEAN Hyundai Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the biennial football tournament organized by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) for men's natio ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

runner up * AFF U-20 Youth Championship :

runner-up Individual * PFAM Player of the Month: August 2016, February 2017, June 2019 * FAM Football Awards – Best Midfielder: 2010, 2017, 2021 * FAM Football Awards – Most Valuable Player: 2017 * FAM Football Awards – Local Top Scorer: 2021 * Malaysia Super League Team of the Season:

* Kedah All-time Top Goalscorer

Awards and recognition

* : ** Companion of the Ahli Cemerlang Semangat Jerai Kedah (ASK) (2008) ** Bintang Semangat Jerai (BSJ) (2006)

References

External links

* * {{Soccerway , baddrol-bakhtiar/70115, Baddrol Bakhtiar
Biodata Baddrol Bakhtiar

births
1988" target="_blank" class="mw-redirect" title="births">births
21st-century Malaysian politicians Living people">21st-century Malaysian politicians">1988" target="_blank" class="mw-redirect" title="births">births
21st-century Malaysian politicians Living people Malaysian men's footballers Malaysia men's international footballers Kedah Darul Aman F.C. players Sabah F.C. (Malaysia) players Footballers from Kedah Malaysian people of Minangkabau descent Malaysia Super League players Malaysian Islamic Party politicians Mandailing people Men's association football midfielders SEA Games gold medalists for Malaysia SEA Games medalists in football Footballers at the 2018 Asian Games Competitors at the 2011 SEA Games Asian Games competitors for Malaysia