Mohamad Sabu | |
|---|---|
| محمد سابو | |
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| Minister of Agriculture and Food Security | |
| Assumed office 3 December 2022 | |
| Monarchs | Abdullah (2022–2024) Ibrahim Iskandar (2024–present) |
| Prime Minister | Anwar Ibrahim |
| Deputy | Chan Foong Hin (2022–2023) Arthur Joseph Kurup (2023–present) |
| Preceded by | Ronald Kiandee (Minister of Agriculture and Food Industries) |
| Constituency | Kota Raja |
| Minister of Defence | |
| In office 21 May 2018 – 24 February 2020 | |
| Monarchs | Muhammad V (2018–2019) Abdullah (2019–2020) |
| Prime Minister | Mahathir Mohamad |
| Deputy | Liew Chin Tong |
| Preceded by | Hishammuddin Hussein |
| Succeeded by | Ismail Sabri Yaakob |
| Constituency | Kota Raja |
| 1st President of theNational Trust Party | |
| Assumed office 16 September 2015 | |
| Deputy | Salahuddin Ayub (2015–2023) Mujahid Yusof Rawa (2023–present) |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Member of theMalaysian Parliament forKota Raja | |
| Assumed office 9 May 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Siti Mariah Mahmud (PR–PAS) |
| Majority | 71,142 (2018) 73,998 (2022) |
| Member of theMalaysian Parliament forKuala Kedah | |
| In office 29 November 1999 – 21 March 2004 | |
| Preceded by | Zakaria Mohd Said (BN–UMNO) |
| Succeeded by | Hashim Jahaya (BN–UMNO) |
| Majority | 991 (1999) |
| Member of theMalaysian Parliament forKubang Kerian | |
| In office 25 April 1995 – 29 November 1999 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Husam Musa (PAS) |
| Majority | 10,125 (1995) |
| Member of theMalaysian Parliament forNilam Puri | |
| In office 21 October 1990 – 25 April 1995 | |
| Preceded by | Mat Ali (BN–UMNO) |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Majority | 8,139 (1990) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mohamad bin Sabu (1954-10-14)14 October 1954 (age 71) |
| Citizenship | Malaysian |
| Nationality |  Malaysia |
| Political party | Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) (1981–2015) National Trust Party (AMANAH) (2015–present) |
| Other political affiliations | Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah (APU) (1990–1996) Barisan Alternatif (BA) (1998–2004) Pakatan Rakyat (PR) (2008–2015) Pakatan Harapan (PH) (2015–present) |
| Spouse | Normah Alwi |
| Children | 4 |
| Residence(s) | Section 19,Shah Alam,Selangor |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Website | mohamadsabu |
| Mohamad Sabu onParliament of Malaysia | |
Mohamad bin Sabu (Jawi: محمد بن سابو; born 14 October 1954), commonly known asMat Sabu, is aMalaysianpolitician who has served as theMinister of Agriculture and Food Security in the Unity Government administration under Prime MinisterAnwar Ibrahim since November 2022 andMinister of Defence in the PH administration under former Prime MinisterMahathir Mohamad from May 2018 to the collapse of the PH administration in February 2020. He has served as theMember of Parliament (MP) forKota Raja since May 2018,Kuala Kedah from November 1999 to March 2004,Kubang Kerian from April 1995 to November 1999 andNilam Puri from October 1990 to April 1995. He is a member of theNational Trust Party (AMANAH), a component party of the PH coalition. He has also served as the 1st and founding President of AMANAH since September 2015.
Mat Sabu is known for his public speaking abilities.[1] He was detained twice under Malaysia's now repealedInternal Security Act (ISA).[2]
Mohamad bin Sabu was born atTasek Gelugor,Penang,Federation of Malaya on 14 October 1954. Mohamad Sabu has seven siblings, namely Fatimah, Abdullah, Zainab, Sofiah, Mohamad, Kasim and Zaleha. On 17 February 2011, Mat Sabu's mother, Halijah Mat, (91 years old) died at Kampung Guar Petai, Tasek Gelugor, Seberang Perai, Penang. She had suffered three strokes. Her body was held at the Padang Menora Mosque.
Mat Sabu attended Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bukit Mertajam in Penang before continued his studies at MARA Institute of Technology (nowUniversiti Teknologi MARA; UiTM) in Diploma in Food Technology. However, he did not complete the course and dismissed due to students movement circa 1971–1975.
Mat Sabu's political career began when he joined theMuslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM) in 1975. He joined PAS in 1981.[3] He had served as Deputy President of PAS, a former component party of the formerPakatan Rakyat (PR) andBarisan Alternatif (BA) opposition coalitions, from 2011 to 2015. He was elected to the party deputy presidency in 2011, running on a moderate platform against the conservative incumbentNasharudin Mat Isa. He had also served as the party vice-president prior to his election as the party Deputy President.[4] He was the first non-alim elected to the party leadership or deputy presidency in over 25 years.[1]
On 6 May 2015, Mat Sabu and other progressive PAS leaders (referred to as the G18) were ousted at the2015 PAS Party leadership election. They then launchedGerakan Harapan Baru (GHB)[5][6] and took over the dormantMalaysian Workers' Party (PPPM),[7] after their attempt to form a new party called Parti Progresif Islam (PPI) was rejected by theHome Affairs Ministry.[8][9] GHB was later rebranded as Parti Amanah Negara (AMANAH) with Mat Sabu as its first President.[10][11]
In the May2018 general election (GE14), Pakatan Harapan had successfully won to form the new government. On 13 May 2018, Prime Minister Tun DrMahathir Mohamad named three key members;Muhyiddin Yassin of BERSATU as Home Minister,Lim Guan Eng of DAP as Finance Minister, while Mat Sabu of AMANAH as Defence Minister in his Cabinet along with a Council of Eminent Persons (CEP).
On 28 June 2018, Mat Sabu announced that Malaysia will withdraw its troops stationed in Saudi Arabia to reflect the country's neutrality in the region.[12]
He was detained twice under theInternal Security Act (ISA): from 1984 to 1986 under charges of being involved in extremist movements, and from 1987 to 1989 as a result ofOperation Lalang, an operation that remains controversial in Malaysian politics.[3][13] He was detained in the Kamunting Detention Center together withLim Kit Siang and his sonLim Guan Eng of theDemocratic Action Party (DAP). During his two years in the detention centre, Mat Sabu entered into a friendship with the father and son and defended the duo and their party from accusations of racism in 2017.[14]
On 21 August 2011 during a speech inGelugor,Penang, Mat Sabu stated that it wasMuhammad Indera and the 200Malayan Communist Party (CPM)guerillas who participated in theBukit Kepong Incident in 1950 who deserved to be proclaimed as national heroes and not thepolice officers who died defending the Bukit Kepong police station, claiming that the police officers were British officers and the CPM members were the true national heroes as they fought the British. A video of the speech was uploaded onYouTube and received mainly negative responses, as the statement was regarded as an insult to the family members of the deceased policemen,[15] as well as other national heroes not affiliated with the CPM such as the late Prime MinisterTunku Abdul Rahman and UMNO founder Dato'Onn Jaafar.[16]
On 30 August 2011,Karpal Singh, theBukit Gelugor MP at the time, responded by saying that the 25 policemen who died were true patriots and that Mat Sabu's statements were ill-advised.[17]
However, PAS denied all the allegations and defended Mat Sabu's statement and claims.[18]
On 1 September 2011, Mat Sabu also dispute the services of Sergeant Hassan defending the homeland.
On 20 September 2011, his home was splashed with kerosene and burned. His home in Section 19, Shah Alam was occupied by his son. His wife Normah Alwi (57) took care of his parents who were admitted to Kangar Hospital, Perlis. A police report was lodged at Section 15 of the Police Station, Shah Alam.
On 21 September 2011, Mat Sabu was charged under Section 500 of the Penal Code at the Butterworth Sessions Court for aggravating the image of their police and their families in a talk at Padang Menora on 21 August 2011. LawyerMohamed Hanipa Maidin said Mat Sabu was released on bail of RM15,000 until the day of trial. If convicted, Mohamad can be jailed up to two years, or fined or both.
On 31 July 2018, Mat Sabu revealed to the press that only four of theRoyal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF)'s 18 Russian fighter jets were operational. This revelation was criticized by the veterans organisation Patriot and its president Arshad Raji as improper as it revealed the RMAF's level of preparedness.
On 5 January 2019, Mat Sabu's son, Ahmad Saiful Islam Mohamad, was arrested with 100 others for testing positive for drugs in Kuala Lumpur.[19] The case is being investigated under Section 15(1)(A) of the Dangerous Drug Act 1952 for drug abuse.[19] He was convicted on 24 June 2021 but the Kuala Lumpur High Court had on 27 October acquitted him by allowing his appeal to overturn the guilty verdict and eight-month jail sentence over the drug abuse case.[20]
| Year | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Pct | Opponent(s) | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | P035Kepala Batas | Mohamad Sabu (PAS) | 4,115 | 16.82% | Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (UMNO) | 16,759 | 68.51% | 25,277 | 12,644 | 80.29% | ||
| Khoo Siew Hoe (DAP) | 3,589 | 14.67% | ||||||||||
| 1986 | P041Permatang Pauh | Mohamad Sabu (PAS) | 7,500 | 29.44% | Anwar Ibrahim (UMNO) | 17,979 | 70.56% | 26,098 | 10,479 | 74.82% | ||
| 1990 | P022Nilam Puri | Mohamad Sabu (PAS) | 19,596 | 62.05% | Annuar Musa (UMNO) | 11,457 | 36.28% | 32,381 | 8,139 | 80.42% | ||
| Kamarudin (IND) | 526 | 1.67% | ||||||||||
| 1995 | P024Kubang Kerian | Mohamad Sabu (PAS) | 21,377 | 65.52% | Mat Zin Awang (UMNO) | 11,252 | 34.48% | 33,550 | 10,125 | 75.74% | ||
| 1999 | P010Kuala Kedah | Mohamad Sabu (PAS) | 23,548 | 51.04% | Fauzi Abdul Hamid (UMNO) | 22,557 | 48.90% | 46,781 | 991 | 76.55% | ||
| 2004 | Mohamad Sabu (PAS) | 26,493 | 41.85% | Hashim Jahaya (UMNO) | 36,707 | 57.98% | 64,332 | 10,214 | 81.65% | |||
| 2008 | P036Kuala Terengganu | Mohamad Sabu (PAS) | 31,934 | 48.90% | Razali Ismail (UMNO) | 32,562 | 49.87% | 66,231 | 628 | 82.45% | ||
| Maimun Yusuf (IND) | 685 | 1.05% | ||||||||||
| 2013 | P011Pendang | Mohamad Sabu (PAS) | 29,527 | 47.71% | Othman Abdul (UMNO) | 32,165 | 51.97% | 62,649 | 2,638 | 89.33% | ||
| 2018 | P111Kota Raja | Mohamad Sabu (AMANAH) | 90,697 | 70.79% | Mohamed Diah Baharun (PAS) | 19,555 | 15.26% | 128,126 | 71,142 | 86.80% | ||
| Gunalan Velu (MIC) | 17,874 | 13.50% | ||||||||||
| 2022 | Mohamad Sabu (AMANAH) | 123,307 | 62.36% | Mohamed Diah Baharun (PAS) | 49,037 | 24.94% | 199,878 | 74,000 | 80.81% | |||
| Kajendran Doraisamy (MIC) | 22,225 | 11.24% | ||||||||||
| Fahmi Bazlan Muda (PEJUANG) | 2,063 | 1.04% | ||||||||||
| Che Sara Afiqah Zainul Arif (PRM) | 360 | 0.18% | ||||||||||
| P Raveentharan Periasamy (IND) | 209 | 0.11% | ||||||||||
| Kumar Karananedi (IND) | 163 | 0.08% | ||||||||||
| Surendhar Selvaraju (IND) | 109 | 0.05% | ||||||||||
Malaysia
Recipient of the17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong Installation Medal (2024)
Federal Territory (Malaysia)
Grand Commander of theOrder of the Territorial Crown (SMW) –Datuk Seri (2023)[26]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Agriculture and Food Security 3 December 2022–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Minister of Defence 21 May 2018–24 February 2020 | Succeeded by |
| Parliament of Malaysia | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forKota Raja 10 May 2018–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forKuala Kedah 29 November 1999–21 March 2004 | Succeeded by |
| New creation | Member of Parliament forKubang Kerian 25 April 1995–29 November 1999 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forNilam Puri 21 October 1990–25 April 1995 | Constituency abolished |
| Party political offices | ||
| New creation | President of theNational Trust Party 16 September 2015–present | Incumbent |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
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