Muhamad Akmal bin Saleh ( ms, محمد اکمال صالح, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset, ; born 2 July 1988) is a

Malaysian Malaysian may refer to: * Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia * Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia * Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and doctor who has served as Member of the

Malacca State Executive Council The Malacca State Executive Council is the State Executive Council (or EXCO) as executive authority of the Government of Malacca, Malaysia. The Council comprises the Chief Minister, appointed by the Governor on the basis that he is able to command ...

(EXCO) in the

Barisan Nasional The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 se ...

(BN) state administration under Chief Minister

Ab Rauf Yusoh Datuk Seri Ab Rauf bin Yusoh ( ms, اب رؤوف بن يوسف, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; born 20 September 1961) is a Malaysian politician who has currently served as Senior Member of the Malacca State Executive Council (EXCO) ...

since April 2023 for the second term and under former Chief Minister

Sulaiman Md Ali Datuk Seri Utama Haji Sulaiman bin Md Ali ( ms, سليمان بن مد علي, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; born 20 December 1965) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the 12th Chief Minister of Malacca since March 2020 and M ...

from November 2021 to March 2023 for the first term as well as a Member of the

Malacca State Legislative Assembly The Malacca State Legislative Assembly ( ms, Dewan Undangan Negeri Melaka) is the unicameral legislature of the Malaysian state of Malacca. It is composed of 28 members who are elected from single-member constituencies throughout the state. Ele ...

(MLA) for Merlimau since November 2021. He is a member of the

United Malays National Organisation The United Malays National Organisation (Malay: ; Jawi: ; abbreviated UMNO () or less commonly PEKEMBAR), is a nationalist right-wing political party in Malaysia. As the oldest continuous national political party within Malaysia (since its in ...

(UMNO), a component party of the BN coalition. He has served as the 15th Youth Chief of UMNO and Division Chief of UMNO Jasin since March 2023.

Early life and education

Muhamad Akmal bin Saleh was born in Merlimau,

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. He received his early education at SMK Dato' Abdul Rahman Ya'akob, Merlimau, Malacca and

Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman ( en, Tuanku Abdul Rahman School; abbreviated STAR) is a premier, all-boys fully residential school in Malaysia funded by the Government of Malaysia. Named after the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) of the Federat ...

Ipoh , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Ipoh in Perak , pushpin_map = #Malaysia#Asia#Earth , pushpin_mapsize = 275px , pushpin_map_caption = Ipoh in Malaysia , coordinates ...

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...

. Then, he got higher education at Melaka Matriculation College for a year before continuing his studies at Russian State Medical University in the field of medicine.

Political career

Muhamad Akmal served as the Head of the UMNO Overseas Club (Russia) from 2010 to 2012. He was also appointed as the Head of the Medical Team of the UMNO Welfare Bureau in 2017. In 2018, he was appointed as the Head of UMNO Youth Merlimau Tengah Branch (2018-2021) and Head of Movement Jasin Division UMNO Youth (2018–2021). In 2018, after Barisan Nasional's defeat in 13th General Election, he won unopposed for the position of Jasin Division UMNO Youth Movement leader. He was nominated as a Barisan Nasional candidate for the N28 Merlimau seat in the

2021 Malacca state election The 2021 Malacca state election, formally the 15th Malacca state election, took place on 20 November 2021. This election was to elect 28 members of the 15th Malacca State Legislative Assembly. The previous assembly was dissolved on 4 October 2021 ...

. He won with a majority of 3248, the highest majority for the entire state of Melaka. Muhamad Akmal was elected to the Melaka State Legislative Assembly in the

on 20 November 2021, winning the seat of Merlimau from

Roslan Ahmad Roslan bin Ahmad is a Malaysian people, Malaysian politician and served as Malacca State Executive Councillor. Election results Honours * : ** Companion Class I of the List of post-nominal letters (Malacca), Exalted Order of Malacca (DMS ...

also of the BN coalition. In addition, he was also appointed as Member of the Melaka State EXCO in charge of Health and Anti-drugs by 12th Chief Minister Sulaiman on 26 November 2021. He was reappointed as a Member of the Melaka State EXCO in charge of Rural Development, Agriculture and Food Security by 13th Chief Minister Ab Rauf on 5 April 2023.

Controversies and issues

Allah word on socks at KK Super Mart

Muhamad Akmal has called on all Muslims and Malays in Malaysia to boycott

KK Super Mart KK Super Mart is a convenience store chain in Malaysia. Established in 2001, it is named after its founder, Datuk Seri Dr. KK Chai. The first location of KK Supermart occupied the ground floor of a shoplot at Kuchai Entrepreneurs Park in Kuala L ...

for insulting the word of God. He also reminded KK Mart or any party that the power to buy is in our hands (Malay peoples) and never play with the sentiment and sensitivity of the "3R" (religion, race and royalty). Muhamad Akmal also added in his statement to urge KK Super Mart to put up banners in all its 881 branches in Malaysia to apologize to Muslims regarding this statement. His statement was supported by

Chief Minister of Melaka The Chief Minister of Malacca ( ms, Ketua Menteri Melaka) is the head of government in the Malaysian state of Malacca. According to convention, the Chief Minister is the leader of the majority party or largest coalition party of the Malacca State ...

, Datuk Seri

. His political opponents and supporters allege That he is using the controversy as a dog whistles that uses language that appears normal to the majority but communicates specific things to intended audiences which are generally used to convey messages on issues to provoke controversy without attracting negative attention. This had brought his UMNO youth party edging towards the path of the right-wing to garner support from the bottom forty electorates that alienate moderates and non-Muslims.

Found guilty against elder brother for libel

In December 2023, the Melaka sessions court ordered state executive councilor Dr Akmal Saleh to pay RM45,000 in damages to his elder brother after finding him liable for defamation. Dr Solehin Saleh filed the suit against Akmal in September 2023. In the claim, Solehin said his brother had, in a Facebook post on Aug 26, 2022, libeled him by describing him as an individual in debt and claiming he had maliciously posted negative comments about Akmal using a fake account. Solehin claimed the comments implied that he was a cheat, immoral, lacking in integrity, and an irresponsible elder brother.

Personal life

Muhamad Akmal married with Dr. Fatin Nadhirah Idrus and was blessed with two sons, namely Muhamad Ziyad Muhamad Akmal and Muhamad Ali Muhamad Akmal.

Election results

References

External links

* 1988 births Living people Malaysian people of Malay descent Malaysian Muslims United Malays National Organisation politicians 21st-century Malaysian politicians Members of the Malacca State Legislative Assembly Malacca state executive councillors {{Malaysia-politician-stub