Rafizi Ramli

Mohd Rafizi bin Ramli (Jawi: ; born 14 September 1977) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the Minister of Economy in the Unity Government administration under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim since December 2022 and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Pandan from May 2013 to May 2018 and again since November 2022.

He is a member of the People's Justice Party (PKR), a component party of presently the PH and formerly the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalitions.

He has also served as the 5th Deputy President of PKR since July 2022.

When Anwar Ibrahim was sacked as the deputy prime minister of Malaysia 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.

After graduating from college, Rafizi worked for an accounting firm in the United Kingdom 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 (ICAEW).

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 company Pharmaniaga, before being appointed as the Chief Executive of the Selangor Economic Advisory Office, a position he held until July 2012.

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 (MCA) president Ong Tee Keat.

Ong was dropped for the election by Barisan Nasional, 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.

He served as Vice-President of PKR from August 2014 to July 2022, Secretary-General of PKR from October 2014 to November 2016 and Strategic Director of PKR from December 2010 to October 2014.

He is the founder of both the whistleblower organisation, National Oversight and Whistleblowers Centre (NOW) and the election volunteerism organisation, Invoke Malaysia (INVOKE).

Rafizi was born in Besut, Terengganu and was raised in Kemaman, an east-coast town.

He came from a humble background; his father was a rubber tapper.

During his schooling days, he was active in extra-curricular activities where he represented Malay 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 study Electrical Engineering at the University of Leeds.

Rafizi has been active in politics since his university days.

In 2014, Rafizi engineered the failed Kajang Move, which sought to oust Khalid Ibrahim, a PKR member, as Chief Minister 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 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 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.

Rafizi Ramli has been a staunch critic of the Barisan Nasional (BN) led government.

He has revealed many leakages in the government, including corruption and mismanagement.

Among his infamous revelation for BN's wrongdoings was the National 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.

She, however, was cleared out of this case by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

He has also revealed malpractices and wastages in the government which includes awarding of over-priced closed tender projects and purchasing of overpriced assets.

Pakatan Rakyat state government officials also have their part with the revelation of 14th Menteri Besar of Selangor, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim out of court settlement with Bank Islam over the RM66.67mil Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd shares when Khalid was the group’s chief executive officer.

His revelation, which liquified Khalid Ibrahim's integrity was a part which culminated in 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 2015 New Year's Eve if the government did not lower the oil prices, following the fall of oil prices worldwide.

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.

Rafizi is a close ally of the PKR's parliamentary leader Anwar Ibrahim.