Johari Abdul

Johari bin Abdul ( Jawi: جوهري بن عبد; born 25 May 1955) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the 11th Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat since December 2022. Previously, he served as the State Leader of the Opposition of Kedah beginning in October 2022 and was a Member of the Kedah State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Gurun from May 2018 until his resignation in December 2022. He was also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sungai Petani from March 2008 and held the role of Chairman of the Pakatan Harapan Backbenchers Club (PHBBC) from August 2018 to November 2022. Johari is a member of the People's Justice Party (PKR), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.

Early life and education

Johari bin Abdul was born on 25 May 1955 in Tikam Batu, Sungai Petani, Kedah, Federation of Malaya. His uncle, Shuaib Lazim, was a political figure within UMNO in Sungai Petani, having served as the Head of UMNO for the Sungai Petani Division and as a senator in the Dewan Negara from April 1985 to July 1991. Johari attended Tikam Batu Elementary School and Ibrahim High School in Sungai Petani before pursuing higher education at the University of Malaya, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA). He later attended the National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN) to train as an Administrative and Diplomatic Officer (PTD). Johari also holds a Master of Arts (MA) in Strategic Studies from the University of Lancaster.

Early career

He began his Administrative and Diplomatic Officer (PTD) career as an officer in Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and the Public Service Department Malaysia (JPA). He also served in the Malaysian Prime Minister's Department (JPM) and the Malaysian Students Department (Jabatan Penuntut Malaysia, MSD). Later, he became the director of the investment department for Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia (YADIM) and also served as the director of the National Civics Bureau (BTN).

Political career

Johari was elected as Committee Member (AJK) of United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) Sungai Petani, Kedah. This ended when he switched parties to People's Justice Party (PKR). He was elected as the MP for Sungai Petani in the 2008 general election, defeating Minister of Information Zainuddin Maidin from the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition and re-elected in the 2013 and 2018 general elections. He was also elected as the MLA for Gurun in the 2018 general election, defeating Boey Chin Gan from the ruling BN coalition.

Johari holds the position of Member of the PKR Supreme Leadership Council and Chairman of the PKR Kedah Leadership Council. He has also served as the State Chairman of Kedah's PKR from March 2020 until September 2022.

Johari was supposed to be the future Menteri Besar of Kedah in 2018 Kedah state election, but the position was given to Mukhriz Mahathir. He once suggested Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor to be the Menteri Besar of Kedah in his capacity as the State Chairman of PH of Kedah in March 2020 during 2020 Kedah political turmoil.

Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat

A week before the first session of the 15th Dewan Rakyat, he vacated his seat for Gurun in the Kedah State Legislative Assembly. This was then followed by his nomination to the position of the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat by the Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. He won the vote by 147 to 74 to become the 11th Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat.

Controversies and issues

Allegations of nepotism for Sungai Petani parliamentary seat

In the 2022 general election, Johari named his son, Mohammed Taufiq Johari as his successor for the Sungai Petani seat in the Malaysian Parliament. Mohammed Taufiq, who is the Head of the Kedah Angkatan Muda Keadilan (AMK), informed that he had received a letter of notification from the party to contest in the seat held by his father. Johari has been defending the Sungai Petani seat since 2008 and in GE14, he who is also a member of the Kedah State Legislative Assembly (ADUN) for Gurun got 45,532 votes, beating three other candidates with a majority of 21,569. Mohammed Taufiq has experience as a trainee doctor at Al-Ihsan Hospital Bandung and Dr Slamet Hospital in Garut, Indonesia. After returning to Malaysia, he worked at Al-Hadi Clinic in Sungai Petani. Mohammed Taufiq is a graduate of Bandung Islamic University majoring in medicine who graduated in 2020. He won the seat by defeating Robert Ling Kui Ee (PN), Shahanim Mohamad Yusoff (BN), Marzuki Yahya (GTA) and Tan Chow Kang (PRM) and got a slim majority of only 1,115 votes.

Allegations of nepotism for Gurun state seat

In the 2023 state election, Johari once again invited controversy when he named his son, Mohammed Firdaus Johari as his successor for the Gurun seat in the Kedah State Legislative Assembly. Mohammed Firdaus who is the Deputy Director of Strategy of the People's Justice Party (PKR) in Kedah insisted that he was elected based on the trust of President of PKR, Anwar Ibrahim and have to convey that trust at the lower level. Apart from Johari, who is his father, Mohammed Firdaus' brother, Mohammed Taufiq, is a Member of Parliament for Sungai Petani. Furthermore, In the meantime, Mohammaed Firdaus stressed that his experience 'behind the scenes' in the political world when he helped his father while serving as a representative in the Gurun and the Sungai Petani Parliament helped him approach voters a lot. However, Mohammed Firdaus denied the statement with the accusation of nepotism that was made to him and his father. Mohammed Firdaus will face a one-on-one competition with former Kedah football player, Baddrol Bakhtiar who is contesting on the Perikatan Nasional (PN) ticket in the seat. Baddrol managed to take the seat from the Johari family and the PKR party with a majority of 6,584 votes.

Comments about cassava as substitute for rice

Johari has urged people to look into other sources of carbohydrates, such cassava (tapioca), given the scarcity of white rice in the area. While efforts are being made to discover answers to the problem of white rice supply, he stated that it is critical to identify nutritious alternatives. Additionally, he stated that in order to improve self-sufficiency and lessen the nation's high food import bill, local governments and authorities should encourage the use of vacant land for food crop cultivation.

At the Eid al-Fitr open house held by Johari in 2024, he joked with the Prime Minister by saying that the "cassava" dish was the special dish of his open house. Also present at the open house was the Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim with his wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs), Mohd Na'im Mokhtar, Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay, Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya, Wong Chen and Egyptian Ambassador to Malaysia, Ragai Tawfik Said Nasr.

Personal life

Johari is married to Noraini Mohd and has 8 children, including Mohammed Taufiq Johari, a doctor and who has succeeded him as the member of parliament for Sungai Petani in the 2022 general election. The others are Mohammed Iqbal Johari and Mohammed Firdaus Johari, both of them are businessmen. Nurul Huda Johari, Nur Fahimah Johari and Suraya Johari, who are dentists and Muhammad Ibrahim Johari who is a physician. The youngest one is Muhammad Yusuf Johari.

Johari's residence is located in Bukit Tunku, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Election results

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* :
** Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM) – Tan Sri (2023)
** Recipient of the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong Installation Medal
* :
** Knight Companion of the Order of Loyalty to the Royal House of Kedah (DSDK) – Dato' (2009)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johari Abdul
Living people
1955 births
Malaysian politicians of Malay descent
Malaysian Muslims
People's Justice Party (Malaysia) politicians
Members of the Kedah State Legislative Assembly
Alumni of Lancaster University
Speakers of the Dewan Rakyat
Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia
Malaysian MPs 2008–2013
Malaysian MPs 2013–2018
Malaysian MPs 2018–2022