Mohd Rafizi Ramli | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| رافضي رملي | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg) Rafizi in 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister of Economy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 3 December 2022 – 16 June 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monarchs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Anwar Ibrahim | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | Hanifah Hajar Taib | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Mustapa Mohamed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Amir Hamzah Azizan (acting) Akmal Nasir | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Constituency | Pandan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of theMalaysian Parliament forPandan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 19 November 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PH–PKR) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Majority | 48,296 (2022) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 5 May 2013 – 9 May 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Ong Tee Keat (BN–MCA) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PH–PKR) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Majority | 26,729 (2013) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Mohd Rafizi bin Ramli (1977-09-14)14 September 1977 (age 48) Besut,Terengganu, Malaysia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Other political affiliations |
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| Spouse | Datin Seri Afizsa Ashak | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | University of Leeds (BEng) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation |
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| Website | rafiziramli | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rafizi Ramli onFacebook | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mohd Rafizi bin Ramli (Jawi:محمد رافضي بن رملي; born 14 September 1977) is a Malaysian politician who served as theMinister of Economy from 2022 until his resignation in 2025. A member of thePeople's Justice Party, he representedPandan in theParliament of Malaysia from 2013 to 2018 and again since 2022.
Born inTerengganu. He served as the fifth deputy president of People's Justice Party from 2022 until his defeat in aleadership 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 thewhistleblower organisation,National Oversight and Whistleblowers Centre (NOW) and the election volunteerism organisation,Invoke Malaysia (INVOKE).[1]
Rafizi was born inBesut,Terengganu and was raised inKemaman, an east-coast town. He came from a humble background; his father was arubber tapper. During his schooling days, he was active in extra-curricular activities where he representedMalay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK) in debate championships as well as being a top student. After finishing his secondary education, he was awarded a scholarship to studyElectrical Engineering at theUniversity of Leeds.
Rafizi has been active in politics since his university days. When Anwar Ibrahim was sacked as theDeputy Prime Minister of Malaysia in 1998, he became more involved in politics and joined in theReformasi movement. He dedicates his involvement in politics to Adlan, his close friend who had become his inspiration.[2]
After graduating from college, Rafizi worked for an accounting firm in theUnited Kingdom and at, the same time, studied for professional papers and qualified as a chartered accountant under theInstitute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).[3] Upon returning to Malaysia in 2003, Rafizi worked for the Malaysian oil company,Petronas 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 companyPharmaniaga, before being appointed as the Chief Executive of the Selangor Economic Advisory Office, a position he held until July 2012.[4]
Rafizi was elected to Parliament in the2013 general election. PKR selected him to contest the seat ofPandan, which was held by formerMalaysian Chinese Association (MCA) presidentOng Tee Keat. Ong was dropped for the election byBarisan Nasional, though he remained popular among voters. The decision to do so was exploited by Rafizi, who repeatedly praised Ong on the campaign trail.[5] Rafizi won the seat by a margin of 26,729 votes, more than twice the number received by the MCA candidate.[6]
Rafizi did not contest the2018 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 theNational Feedlot Corporation (NFC) and its chairman.[7][8][9] The Pandan seat was instead contested and won by the then-President of PKRWan Azizah Wan Ismail.
Rafizi is a close ally of PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim.[10] In 2014, Rafizi engineered the failedKajang Move, which sought to oustKhalid Ibrahim, a PKR member, asMenteri Besar of Selangor and install Anwar as his replacement. The move encountered a number of obstacles; it ultimately succeeded in forcing Khalid's resignation, butAzmin Ali, PKR's then-Deputy President, replaced him instead.[11]
In October 2014, after the Kajang Move reached its conclusion, Rafizi was appointed as Secretary-General of PKR, replacingSaifuddin Nasution Ismail as the leading administrative officer of the party.[12] Rafizi's appointment came two months after his election as one of the party's four vice presidents.[13] The party's constitution permitted him to hold both his appointed and elected positions.[14]
Rafizi Ramli was a staunch critic ofBarisan Nasional (BN) governments and has repeatedlyexposed instances of corruption and mismanagement, including theNational Feedlot Corporation (NFC) scandal which involved the Women, Family and Community Development Minister,Shahrizat Abdul Jalil. Shahrizat and her family were accused of misusing RM250 million in public funds meant for a state cattle ranch in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan.[15] She, however, was cleared out of this case byMalaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).[16] He also revealed instances of over-priced closed tender projects and purchasing of overpriced assets. His revelations also includedKhalid Ibrahim's out of court settlement withBank Islam concerning a RM66.67 million loan to purchase shares inGuthrie Group Limited when Khalid was its chief executive officer. The revelation, which marred Khalid Ibrahim's image, constituted a part of theKajang Move.[17]
Rafizi Ramli is an advocate for lower petrol prices.[18] 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.[19] 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.[20][21] 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.[22][23] His defense of petrol station owners elicited some criticism from netizens andUtusan Malaysia.[24][25][26]
Rafizi was not able to run forreelection 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.[27]
After being defeated in the2018 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 the2022 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.[28]
Rafizi defeated Saifuddin Nasution and was elected deputy president for the 2022-2025 term.[29]
Rafizi returned to parliament after the15th general election, representingPandan. He managed to win the seat with a landslide 48,000 vote majority. He was subsequently appointed as theMinister of Economy in theAnwar Ibrahim Cabinet.
Following his defeat in the2025 People's Justice Party leadership election toNurul 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, 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.[30]
He was charged with exposing confidentialPublic Bank customers' documents in his pursuit of exposing theNFC 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.[31][32]
Rafizi allegedly disclosed the documents to media consultant Yusuf Abdul Alim andThe Star reporter Erle Martin Carvalho, at the PKR headquarters inPetaling Jaya on 7 March 2012. Bank clerk Johari Mohamad, 44, is also accused of conspiring with Rafizi.[33][34] 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.[35] His trial will begin on 27 April 2015.[36][37] 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.[38] The conviction was however overturned by the High Court on 15 November 2019 and he was fully discharged from the earlier jail sentence.[39]
On 8 April 2016, Rafizi pleaded not guilty to the charge of publishing a libellous statement againstTabung Haji (TH) through the posting of an article with the heading '’Analisa Kewangan Tabung Haji 2009-2015” in his blog.[40] On 27 February 2019, the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate’s Court acquitted and discharged him for defaming TH.[41]
In August 2017, a Malaysian High Court in Kuala Lumpur upheld an 18-month jail sentence against him for having page 98 of the1MDB audit report without approval, in violation of the Official Secrets Act 1972.[42] The conviction and 18-month jail sentence had prevented Rafizi from contesting in theGE14.[43]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.[44]
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.[45] 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.
| Year | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Pct | Opponent(s) | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | P100Pandan | Mohd Rafizi Ramli (PKR) | 48,183 | 66.73% | Lim Chin Yee (MCA) | 21,454 | 29.71% | 73,225 | 26,729 | 87.32% | ||
| 2022 | Mohd Rafizi Ramli (PKR) | 74,002 | 63.98% | Muhammad Rafique Zubir Albakri (PAS) | 25,706 | 22.23% | 115,656 | 48,296 | 77.76% | |||
| Leong Kok Wee (MCA) | 11,664 | 10.09% | ||||||||||
| Ong Tee Keat (WARISAN) | 3,323 | 2.87% | ||||||||||
| Nadia Hanafiah (PEJUANG) | 961 | 0.83% | ||||||||||
Malaysia
Recipient of the17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong Installation Medal (2024)
Negeri Sembilan
Knight Grand Companion of theOrder of Loyalty to Negeri Sembilan (SSNS) –Dato' Seri (2025)[50]
Media related toRafizi Ramli at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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