Zambry Abdul Kadir


Zambry bin Abd Kadir is a Malaysian politician, senator, and government official. Since December 2023, he has served as the Minister of Higher Education in the Unity Government administration under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Zambry previously served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from December 2022 to December 2023, before the 2023 cabinet reshuffle. From August 2020 to December 2022 he was the non-independent, non-executive chairman of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad. Zambry also briefly served as the Leader of the Opposition of Perak from July 2018 to August 2018 and was the 11th Menteri Besar of Perak from February 2009 to May 2018. He was a member of the Perak State Executive Council in the Barisan Nasional state administration under former Menteri Besar Tajol Rosli Mohd Ghazali from March 2004 until the collapse of the BN state administration in March 2008. He also served as a member of the Perak State Legislative Assembly for Pangkor from March 2004 to November 2022. Zambry is a Supreme Council Member of the United Malays National Organisation and the Division Chief for Lumut. He also served as the Secretary-General of BN since June 2021.

Education

Zambry obtained his early education on Pangkor Island and attended secondary school in Sitiawan before continuing his upper secondary education at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Panglima Bukit Gantang, Parit Buntar, Perak.
He holds a PhD in Political Thoughts with distinction from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, after completing his master's degree in Political Philosophy and Comparative Religion from the same university in 1993.
Zambry also holds another master's degree, in Islamic Thoughts, from the International Islamic University Malaysia, which he received in 1991 after completing his first degree, a B.Econ in Economics from the same institution.
YearInstitutionsFields
1987International Islamic University MalaysiaB.Econ
1991International Islamic University MalaysiaM.A
1992Temple University, United StatesM.A
1995Temple University, United StatesPhD

Political career

Zambry entered politics in 1995 after returning from the United States. He began his political career as the Pangkor UMNO Branch Chief before being elected as the Lumut UMNO Youth Division Chief. He later served as a State UMNO Youth Chief and became an executive council member of the National UMNO Youth.
In the 2004 Malaysian general election, he was elected as the Perak State Legislative Assembly member for Pangkor and retained the seat in the 2008 and 2013 general elections.
Zambry was the head of Perak UMNO until he was succeeded by Saarani Mohamad. He continues to hold the Lumut UMNO Division Chief position.
In 1998, he was detained under the Internal Security Act.

Perak Constitutional Crisis

A member of the Perak state legislative assembly, Zambry was a figure in the 2009 Perak constitutional crisis as the intended Menteri Besar. After three state assembly persons from the Pakatan Rakyat coalition announced their intention to support a candidate for Menteri Besar, they lent their support to a vote of no confidence in the incumbent Pakatan Rakyat Menteri Besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin. Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak requested Nizar's resignation and swore in Zambry as the new Menteri Besar on February 6, 2009, in which Zambry held for about three months. However, Nizar maintained that the Sultan was not permitted by the state constitution to dismiss him as the Menteri Besar. On May 11, 2009, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that Nizar had always been the rightful Menteri Besar of Perak. To maintain administrative continuity, Nizar tentatively endorsed most of Zambry's policies, subject to later review, but reinstated the 817 village development and security committees and 318 local government councillors whom Zambry had sacked. However, the following day, the Court of Appeal granted a conservation of the High Court judgement, and Zambry returned to the post.
On May 22, 2009, the Court of Appeal unanimously declared Zambry as the rightful Menteri Besar of Perak. The court ruled that the High Court's earlier decision on declaring Nizar as the legitimate Menteri Besar was erroneous and accordingly set it aside. Delivering oral judgement, Justice Md. Raus held that the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, was correct in appointing Zambry as the new Menteri Besar under Article 16 of the Perak Constitution, after being satisfied that Zambry had the command of the majority of the state legislative assembly.

Writings

Among the books he has written are ‘UMNO dan Jiwa Merdeka,’ ‘Pemuda UMNO Menebus Maruah,’ ‘Menuju Arah,’ and ‘Islam Malaysia & Amerika.’ His poems are compiled in an anthology in a book titled ‘Suara Pelaut.’
Zambry has edited publications on education and development for Nurin Enterprise, K.L and served as editor of Business Administration in Islam, Hizbi. He also edited Memperkasa Kepimpinan Merentas Masa Depan, CELDES, KL. He was the Editorial Chief for Imbas Gemilang KBS 1998, a publication for the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Among his translation works are Faces of Islam, Qur'anic Sciences and Islamic Legal Philosophy.

Awards and recognitions

In 2014, Zambry received a special recognition at the Global Islamic Finance Awards held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The award acknowledged his role in establishing the Yayasan Bina Upaya Darul Ridzuan, a state foundation aimed at addressing poverty-related issues in Perak.
He was also awarded the Honorary Doctorate of Business Administration from the University of East London for his contributions to the State of Perak.

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

Foreign honours

Personal life

Zambry was born on March 22, 1962, in Pangkor Island, a tourist fishing settlement island in Perak, Malaysia.
He is married to Saripah Zulkifli and has five children.