Rafizi Ramli
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mohd Rafizi bin Ramli ( Jawi: ; born 14 September 1977) is a Malaysian politician who has been the Minister of Economy in the administration of
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Anwar Ibrahim Anwar bin Ibrahim (; born 10 August 1947), also known by his abbreviation as DSAI and PMX, is a Malaysian politician who is the 10th prime minister of Malaysia since 2022. A member of the People's Justice Party (Malaysia), People's Justice P ...
since 2022. He has been member of parliament for Pandan since 2022, having previously represented the constituency from 2013 to 2018. A member of the People's Justice Party (PKR), a component party of the
Pakatan Harapan Pakatan Harapan (PH; stylised as HARAPAN; ) is a Malaysian Parliamentary group, political coalition consisting of Centre-left politics, centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has led ...
(PH) coalition, he served as the party's 5th deputy president from 2022 until his defeat in a leadership election in 2025. He was also a vice-president of the party from 2014 to 2012, secretary-general from 2014 to 2016, and strategic director from 2010 to 2014. He is also the founder of the
whistleblower Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...
organisation, National Oversight and Whistleblowers Centre (NOW) and the election volunteerism organisation, Invoke Malaysia (INVOKE).


Early life and education

Rafizi was born in Besut,
Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu) is a sultanate and States and federal territories of Malaysia, federal state of Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l-Iman (c ...
and was raised in Kemaman, an east-coast town. He came from a humble background; his father was a
rubber tapper Rubber tapping is the process by which latex is collected from a rubber tree. The latex is harvested by slicing a groove into the bark of the tree at a depth of with a hooked knife and peeling back the bark. Trees must be approximately six years ...
. During his schooling days, he was active in extra-curricular activities where he represented
Malay College Kuala Kangsar The Malay College Kuala Kangsar (abbreviated MCKK; ; ) is a residential school in Malaysia. It is an all-boys and all- Malay school in the royal town of Kuala Kangsar, Perak. It is sometimes dubbed "the Eton College of the East". The Malay Col ...
(MCKK) in debate championships as well as being a top student. After finishing his secondary education, he was awarded a scholarship to study
Electrical Engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
at the
University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...
. Rafizi has been active in politics since his university days. When Anwar Ibrahim was sacked as the
Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia The deputy prime minister of Malaysia (; ) is the second-highest political office in Malaysia. There have been 15 officeholders since the office was created in 1957. The first prime minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, started the convent ...
in 1998, he became more involved in politics and joined in the Reformasi movement. He dedicates his involvement in politics to Adlan, his close friend who had become his inspiration.


Early career

After graduating from college, Rafizi worked for an accounting firm in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and at, the same time, studied for professional papers and qualified as a chartered accountant under the
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) is a professional membership organisation that promotes, develops and supports chartered accountants and students around the world. As of December 2024, it has over 210,000 memb ...
(ICAEW). Upon returning to Malaysia in 2003, Rafizi worked for the Malaysian oil company,
Petronas Petroliam Nasional Berhad, commonly known as PETRONAS (stylised in all caps), is a Malaysian Multinational corporation, multinational petroleum, oil and natural gas, gas company headquartered in Kuala Lumpur. Established in 1974, it is a lega ...
from 2003 to 2009. During his tenure at Petronas, he held many important portfolios including managing Petronas' petrochemical assets. In 2009, he became the General Manager of the healthcare company Pharmaniaga, before being appointed as the Chief Executive of the Selangor Economic Advisory Office, a position he held until July 2012.


Political career

Rafizi was elected to Parliament in the 2013 general election. PKR selected him to contest the seat of Pandan, which was held by former
Malaysian Chinese Association The Malaysian Chinese Association (Abbreviation, abbrev: MCA; Malay language, Malay: ''Persatuan Cina Malaysia''), formerly known as the Malayan Chinese Association, is an ethnic List of political parties in Malaysia, political party in Malaysi ...
(MCA) president
Ong Tee Keat Ong Tee Keat (; born 22 November 1956) is a Malaysian people, Malaysian politician who served as the Minister of Transport (Malaysia), Minister of Transport in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Ministers Abdullah Ahma ...
. Ong was dropped for the election by
Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional (BN; ) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1974 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties to succeed the Alliance Party. It is the third largest political coalition with 30 seats in ...
, though he remained popular among voters. The decision to do so was exploited by Rafizi, who repeatedly praised Ong on the campaign trail. Rafizi won the seat by a margin of 26,729 votes, more than twice the number received by the MCA candidate. Rafizi did not contest the 2018 general election as his eligibility to stand as a candidate was put in doubt due to his pending appeal against a 30-month jail sentence for leaking banking details belonging to the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) and its chairman. The Pandan seat was instead contested and won by the then-President of PKR
Wan Azizah Wan Ismail Wan Azizah binti Wan Ismail ( Jawi: وان عزيزة بنت وان إسماعيل; born 3 December 1952) is a Malaysian politician who has served as Spouse of the Prime Minister of Malaysia as the wife of Anwar Ibrahim, Member of Parliamen ...
.


Kajang Move

Rafizi is a close ally of PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim. In 2014, Rafizi engineered the failed Kajang Move, which sought to oust
Khalid Ibrahim Abdul Khalid bin Ibrahim (; 14 December 1946 – 31 July 2022) was a Malaysian politician who served as the 14th Menteri Besar of Selangor from 2008 to 2014. He was the Member of the Selangor State Assembly (MLA) for Ijok from 2008 to 2013, ...
, a PKR member, as Menteri Besar of Selangor and install Anwar as his replacement. The move encountered a number of obstacles; it ultimately succeeded in forcing Khalid's resignation, but Azmin Ali, PKR's then-Deputy President, replaced him instead. In October 2014, after the Kajang Move reached its conclusion, Rafizi was appointed as Secretary-General of PKR, replacing
Saifuddin Nasution Ismail Saifuddin Nasution bin Ismail (Jawi alphabet, Jawi: سيف الدين ناسوتيون بن اسماعيل; born 7 December 1963) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the Minister of Home Affairs (Malaysia), Minister of Home Affairs in ...
as the leading administrative officer of the party. Rafizi's appointment came two months after his election as one of the party's four vice presidents. The party's constitution permitted him to hold both his appointed and elected positions.


Opposition

Rafizi Ramli was a staunch critic of
Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional (BN; ) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1974 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties to succeed the Alliance Party. It is the third largest political coalition with 30 seats in ...
(BN) governments and has repeatedly
exposed Expose, exposé, or exposed may refer to: News sources * Exposé (journalism), a form of investigative journalism * '' The Exposé'', a British conspiracist website * '' Exeposé'', a student-run newspaper of the University of Exeter Film and TV ...
instances of corruption and mismanagement, including the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) scandal which involved the Women, Family and Community Development Minister,
Shahrizat Abdul Jalil Shahrizat binti Abdul Jalil ( Jawi: شهرزاد بنت عبدالجليل; born 15 August 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served in the Cabinet of Malaysia as Minister of Women, Family and Community Development from 2009 to 2012. She was th ...
. Shahrizat and her family were accused of misusing RM250 million in public funds meant for a state cattle ranch in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan. She, however, was cleared out of this case by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). He also revealed instances of over-priced closed tender projects and purchasing of overpriced assets. His revelations also included
Khalid Ibrahim Abdul Khalid bin Ibrahim (; 14 December 1946 – 31 July 2022) was a Malaysian politician who served as the 14th Menteri Besar of Selangor from 2008 to 2014. He was the Member of the Selangor State Assembly (MLA) for Ijok from 2008 to 2013, ...
's out of court settlement with Bank Islam concerning a RM66.67 million loan to purchase shares in Guthrie Group Limited when Khalid was its chief executive officer. The revelation, which marred Khalid Ibrahim's image, constituted a part of the Kajang Move. Rafizi Ramli is an advocate for lower petrol prices. He criticised the government's move in 2014 to end petrol subsidies, arguing that it would benefit oil companies and petrol station owners but not the Malaysian people. He had prominently threatened to lead a street protest on New Year's Eve if the government did not lower oil prices, following the fall of oil prices worldwide. He has also advocated for changes to the way petrol prices are fixed by the government, to protect petrol station owners from the deleterious impacts of fluctuating prices. His defense of petrol station owners elicited some criticism from netizens and
Utusan Malaysia ''Utusan Malaysia'' (Jawi alphabet, Jawi: اوتوسن مليسيا; English language, English: ''The Malaysian Tribune'' or simply ''Utusan'') is a Malaysian Malay language daily newspaper headquartered outside Kuala Lumpur. Formerly owned by th ...
. Rafizi was not able to run for reelection in 2018 as he was appealing a 30-month jail sentence from the Shah Alam sessions court for leaking banking details about the National Feedlot Corp and its chairman Salleh Ismail.


Return to active politics

After being defeated in the 2018 People's Justice Party leadership election by Azmin Ali for the position of deputy president, Rafizi temporarily stepped away from politics. He announced his return in March 2022, as well as his intention to run in the 2022 party elections for the deputy presidency, which was left vacant after Azmin Ali left the party in February 2020. Party leaders were divided about his return. Rafizi defeated Saifuddin Nasution and was elected deputy president for the 2022-2025 term.


Return to Parliament

Rafizi returned to parliament after the 15th general election, representing Pandan. He managed to win the seat with a landslide 48,000 vote majority. He was subsequently appointed as the Minister of Economy in the
Anwar Ibrahim Cabinet The Anwar Ibrahim cabinet is the current federal cabinet of Malaysia, formed on 3 December 2022, nine days after Anwar Ibrahim took office as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia. The composition of the cabinet was announced by Anwar a day ea ...
.


Resignation from Cabinet

Following his defeat in the 2025 People's Justice Party leadership election to Nurul Izzah Anwar, who received 9,803 votes to Rafizi's 3,866 for the position of deputy president, he announced his resignation as Minister of Economy. Shortly after,
Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad Nik Nazmi bin Nik Ahmad ( Jawi: ; born 12 January 1982) is a Malaysian who has served as Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability in the administration of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim since 2023. He has been member of ...
, the Minister for Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, also resigned after failing to defend his vice-presidency in PKR. Rafizi cited the completion of the 13th Malaysia Plan and the need for leadership to reflect the people's mandate.


Legal issues

He was charged with exposing confidential
Public Bank A public bank is a bank, a financial institution, in which a State (polity), state, municipality, or public actors are the owners. It is an enterprise under government control.
customers' documents in his pursuit of exposing the NFC scandal. Rafizi was charged in August 2012 under Banking and Financial Institutions Act (Bafia) 1989 for revealing four Public Bank customer-profile documents on the balance summaries of the NFC, National Meat and Livestock Sdn Bhd, Agroscience Industries Sdn Bhd and NFC Chairman, Mohamad Salleh Ismail. Rafizi allegedly disclosed the documents to media consultant Yusuf Abdul Alim and The Star reporter Erle Martin Carvalho, at the PKR headquarters in
Petaling Jaya Petaling Jaya (), colloquially referred to as "PJ", is a city in Petaling District, in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. Originally developed as a Satellite city, satellite township for Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, it is part of the G ...
on 7 March 2012. Bank clerk Johari Mohamad, 44, is also accused of conspiring with Rafizi. His effort to strike out the charges was rejected by High Court on 23 November 2012, by Appeals Court on 23 May 2013 and finally, by Federal Court on 6 April 2015. His trial will begin on 27 April 2015. On 7 February 2018, Rafizi was sentenced by a Sessions Court in Shah Alam to 30 months in jail for exposing confidential banking details relating to the NFC scandal. The conviction was however overturned by the High Court on 15 November 2019 and he was fully discharged from the earlier jail sentence. On 8 April 2016, Rafizi pleaded not guilty to the charge of publishing a libellous statement against Tabung Haji (TH) through the posting of an article with the heading '’Analisa Kewangan Tabung Haji 2009-2015” in his blog. On 27 February 2019, the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate’s Court acquitted and discharged him for defaming TH. In August 2017, a Malaysian High Court in Kuala Lumpur upheld an 18-month jail sentence against him for having page 98 of the 1MDB audit report without approval, in violation of the Official Secrets Act 1972. The conviction and 18-month jail sentence had prevented Rafizi from contesting in the GE14. On 1 June 2018 after the GE14, Rafizi however was released on a good behaviour bond of RM10,000 bound over for two years in one surety over the OSA conviction by the Court of Appeal. On 16 November 2019, Rafizi Ramli succeeded in his appeal in the case involving NFC, National Meat and Livestock Sdn Bhd, Agroscience Industries Sdn Bhd and NFC Chairman, Mohamad Salleh Ismail. The judge involved in this appeal was Judge Mohd Yazid Mustafa. Mohd Yazid, in his ruling, said exhibit P4 and attachments A to D were photostatted documents that failed to meet requirements under Section 65(1)(c) of the Evidence Act 1950, and therefore inadmissible. Also discharged and acquitted from the same charge was bank clerk Johari Mohamad.


Election results


Honours


Honours of Malaysia

* : ** Recipient of the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong Installation Medal (2024) * : ** Knight Grand Companion of the Order of Loyalty to Negeri Sembilan (SSNS) – Dato' Seri (2025)


References


External links

* {{Authority control 1977 births Living people People from Terengganu Malaysian politicians of Malay descent Malaysian Muslims Malaysian activists Malaysian accountants Malaysian politicians convicted of crimes People's Justice Party (Malaysia) politicians Alumni of the University of Leeds Whistleblowing in Malaysia Malaysian MPs 2013–2018 Malaysian MPs 2022–