Azalina Othman Said

Dato' Sri Azalina binti Othman Said (Jawi: ازلينا بنت عثمان سعيد; born 31 December 1963) is a Malaysian politician and lawyer who has served as the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Minister Najib Razak from July 2015 to the collapse of the BN administration in May 2018 and in the Anwar Ibrahim Cabinet since December 2022 as well as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Pengerang since March 2004.

She served as the Special Advisor to Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Law and Human Rights from September 2021 to her resignation in August 2022, Deputy Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat II from July 2020 to her resignation in August 2021, Minister of Tourism from March 2008 to April 2009 and the Minister of Youth and Sports from March 2004 to March 2008 in the BN administration under former Prime Ministers Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Razak and Chairperson of the National Film Development Corporation from June 2015 to her ministerial appointment in July 2015.

She created history by being the first female deputy speaker.

She is a Member of the Supreme Council and Division Chief of Pengerang of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of the BN coalition.

She has also served as the Information Chief of UMNO since March 2023 and also served as the 1st Women Youth Chief of UMNO from April 2001 to September 2004.

Azalina was born in Johor Bahru on 31 December 1963 to a father of Buginese ancestry and a mother of Arab lineage.

She spent her early years in Penang where she received her elementary education at a Catholic school, Convent Green Lane.

Azalina started her tertiary education in Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) (or Institut Teknologi Mara (ITM) as it was known then) by taking her Diploma in Public Administration (DPA).

Upon graduating with ITM, she read laws in Universiti Malaya and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours.) or LL.B Hons.

After graduating in 1988, she went on to further her studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom and graduated with a Master of Laws (LLM) in 1990.

She first started her career in Malaysia as a legal assistant at Messr Raja Darryl & Loh law firm (1988–1989, 1991–1994).

After gaining experience, she became an associate partner of Azalina Chan & Chia law firm (1994–2001) and with Messrs Skine (2001–2002).

In 2002, she formed a partnership with Messrs Zaid Ibrahim & Co [2002–2004], which is the largest law firm in Malaysia and later on with Zaid Ibrahim & Co. LLP, Singapore in 2003.

Coincidentally, Zaid Ibrahim was also her cabinet colleague, having been appointed Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in-charge of Legal Affairs at the same time as her appointment as Tourism Minister.

Before getting involved in politics, she was the host of various television talk shows, mainly discussing about political, economic, and social issues, such as Dateline Malaysia and Lidah Pengarang on ntv7.

On 27 August 2022, Azalina said whoever became prime minister would usually appoint “one of their own” to become the AG, a post which came with wide-ranging powers.

Her comments drew criticisms from Bersatu and Pakatan Harapan leaders.

Azalina has been a leading critic of the claims made by the alleged heirs of the Sulu Sultan in the Malaysia-Sulu Dispute.

The Japan Times called her a figure at the "forefront of several large and international headline-grabbing developments — including the scrapping of the country’s mandatory death penalty and a June victory in a protracted legal battle that has come to be known as the “Sulu case".

Azalina has called the arbitration case as well the arbitrator in the case, Gonzalo Stampa, a sham.

"We knew that the arbitration award was a sham, it's a rogue arbitrator, it's a sham award," the Japan Times reported her as saying.

Azalina also called on the Sulu claimants to take their claims to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) if they had valid proof of their ancestry, saying the case was not commercial in nature but "one of sovereignty".

In June 2023, Azalina demanded the Sulu claimants to pay Malaysia the cost of litigation, in response to a claim made by one of the lawyers of the purported Sulu heirs, Paul Cohen.

Cohen had earlier announced that he would file another claim at another European court after the arbitration award by Stampa was struck down.

“The guarantee of this government is that we will fight to the end.

But while fighting, I want the costs to be paid first.

You talk like a hero but pay the cost first.

You tell him (Cohen) if you want to fight, then fight fairly.

Don’t jump from jurisdiction to jurisdiction,” she said at a press conference.

In January 2023, Azalina vowed to protect Malaysia's interests, saying the government “is relentless in its effort to protect and preserve Malaysia’s interests, sovereign immunity and sovereignty, and will continue to vigorously take all necessary actions to put an end to the Sulu claimants’ fictitious claim”.