Mahdzir bin Khalid ( Jawi: محاضر بن خالد; born 15 December 1960) is a Malaysian politician and teacher who served as the Minister of Rural Development in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob from August 2021 to the collapse of BN administration in November 2022, Minister of Education, Deputy Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water in the BN administration under former Prime Minister

Najib 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 ...

and former Minister Maximus Ongkili from May 2013 to the collapse of the BN administration in May 2018, Chairman of the Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) from May 2020 to October 2021, Member of Parliament (MP) for Padang Terap from May 2013 to November 2022, the 9th Menteri Besar of Kedah from December 2005 to March 2008, Member of the Kedah State Executive Council (EXCO) from March 2004 to his promotion to Menteri Besar in December 2005 and 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 Pedu from March 2004 to May 2013. He is a Member of the Supreme Council and Division Chief of Padang Terap 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. He has also served as the State Chairman of UMNO of

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 ...

since March 2023. He also served as the Vice President of UMNO from June 2018 to his defeat in the party elections in March 2023.

Political career

Mahdzir started his political career as a staffer and in 1999 became the political secretary to

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. In 2004 he was elected to the Kedah State Legislative Assembly for the rural seat of Pedu. In December 2005 he became the state's Chief Minister after his predecessor, Syed Razak Syed Zain Barakbah, resigned because of ill health. Mahdzir had been acting in the position since July 2005. Mahdzir's tenure as Menteri Besar came to an end after his BN Kedah state government was defeated in the 2008 election by the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) opposition coalition led by the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS). Mahdzir became Barisan Nasional's opposition leader in the state assembly before moving to federal parliament in the 2013 election, winning the seat of Padang Terap from PAS. After the election he was appointed Deputy Minister for Energy, Green Technology and Water in the government of Prime Minister

. Over a period of about 17 months between 2015 and 2017, as Minister of Education, Mahdzir was pressured to award a contract for the provision of electricity to rural Sarawak schools to Jepak Holdings.

Jepak Holdings

In late 2015, Saidi Bin Abang Samsudin and Rayyan Radzwill bin Abdullah proposed to the Ministry of Education that it award their company, Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd, a contract to replace other contractors for the provision of maintenance of diesel electric generators at rural and interior Sarawak schools and install a hybrid solar voltaic system for RM1.25 billion. As Minister of Education, Mahdzir did not favour the proposal as the ministry's technical experts doubted Jepak's expertise and the ministry had already planned to connect some of the schools to the electricity grid. Saidi and Rayyan then sought the assistance of Rosmah Mansor, wife of Prime Minister

, to effect the contract. Saidi and Rayyan agreed to pay Rosmah 15% of the contract sum, or RM187.5 million, for her help. In December 2016, Rosmah called Mahdzir to urge him to award the contract. Eventually, the ministry signed a contract with Jepak in June 2017. In September 2022, Rosmah was convicted in the High Court of Malaya of bribery in relation to the Jepak contract.

Election results

Honours

* : ** Justice of the Peace of Kedah (JP) (1986) ** Knight Grand Companion of the Order of Loyalty to the Royal House of Kedah (SSDK) – Dato' Seri (2006) ** Justice of the Peace of Kedah (JP) (2007) ** Grand Commander of the Order of Loyalty to Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah (SHMS) – Dato' Seri Diraja (2008) ** Dato' Seri Mahawangsa (2011) * : ** MY-PERA Order of the Perak State Crown - lower classes

MY-PERA Order of the Perak State Crown - lower classes

Knight Commander of the Order of the Perak State Crown (DPMP) – Dato' (2003)

References

{{portal, Malaysia Living people 1960 births Malaysian schoolteachers Malaysian people of Malay descent Malaysian Muslims United Malays National Organisation politicians Ministers of education of Malaysia Government ministers of Malaysia Chief ministers of Kedah Kedah state executive councillors Members of the Kedah State Legislative Assembly Malaysian MPs 2013–2018 Malaysian MPs 2018–2022