Nori binti Abdullah (; born 24 July 1976) is a Malaysian politician who is the daughter of 5th

Prime Minister of Malaysia The prime minister of Malaysia (; ) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branch of the Government of Malaysia, federal government. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoints the prime minister who is a membe ...

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi (, ; 26 November 1939 – 14 April 2025), also known as Pak Lah, was a Malaysian politician and civil servant who served as the fifth prime minister of Malaysia from 2003 to 2009. A member of UMNO, he was the party's ...

and

Endon Mahmood Tun Endon binti Mahmood Ambak ( Jawi: هند بنت محمود أعماق; 24 December 1940 – 20 October 2005) was the first wife of the 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. She died from breast cancer on 20 October 2 ...

. She is also the wife of

Khairy Jamaluddin Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar (, ; born 10 January 1976), commonly known as KJ, is a Malaysian politician, radio presenter, and podcaster. He is currently a presenter on Hot FM and co-hosts the political podcast '' Keluar Sekejap'' with Shahril ...

, former chief of UMNO Youth from 2008 until 2018. She serving as the chairperson of Yayasan Budi Penyayang Malaysia (PENYAYANG) since October 2005 after her mother's death. She also one of the founding member of the Puteri UMNO Malaysia.

Early life and education

Nori binti Abdullah was born in

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 Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

on 24 July 1976. She is of the

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

–

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

–

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

– Malay descent. Her brother is . She had her secondary education at the Convent Bukit Nanas High School and the International School of Kuala Lumpur (ISKL). She received her

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) in International Relations from the

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

(SU).

Career

Nori began her career at the

International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is an international research institute or think tank focusing on defence and security issues. Since 1997, its headquarters have been at Arundel House in London. It has offices on four co ...

(ISIS) Malaysia in 1999, where she is currently a visiting fellow. In 2003, she joined Noordin Sopiee & Associates (NSA), which conducts research and political analysis of current affairs, as a deputy editor and was appointed editor in 2004. Following the death of Noordin Sopiee, she now serves as the executive chairperson of NSA. Nori is also a founding member of Puteri UMNO, the youth women's wing of Malaysia's largest political party, 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 ...

, and was a member of the movement's Executive Council for the 2002–2004 term. She currently serves on the Malaysia National Youth Consultative Council, a representative body that works with the

Ministry of Youth and Sports A ministry of sports or ministry of youth and sports is a kind of government ministry found in certain countries with responsibility for the regulation of sports, particularly those participated in by young people. It is led by the minister of s ...

on policy issues. On 2 August 2000, she co-founded the Yayasan Budi Penyayang Malaysia (PENYAYANG) with her mother,

, where she served as the board of trustees with her brother, Kamaluddin Abdullah, Abd Rahim Mohamad, Francis Lau Tuang Nguang, Jasmy Ismail and Azlinda Azman. After her mother's death in 20 October 2005 due to

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

, she has been the chairperson and board of trustees of PENYAYANG.

Personal life

In October 2001, Nori married

(born 1976). The couple have three sons, Jibreil Ali Khairy (born 2007), Timor Abdullah Khairy (born 2008) and Raif Averroes Khairy (born 2015). In April 2016, her husband Khairy has opened up about their second son, Timor Abdullah who has

Autism Spectrum Disorder Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

(ASD).

References

{{reflist Living people 1976 births People from Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Muslims Malaysian people of Malay descent Malaysian people of Arab descent Malaysian people of Chinese descent Malaysian people of Japanese descent Syracuse University alumni United Malays National Organisation politicians