Rais Yatim

Born to Minangkabau immigrant parents named Muhammad Yatim bin Tahir (1904-1986) and his wife, Siandam (1906-1954) in Kampung Gagu, Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan, who were married in 1926.

However, he pulled out on 26 July, citing the lateness of campaigning, and his duties and commitments as the Main Committee of the upcoming 50th Merdeka celebrations, which limited him from travelling out of the country to lobby for his candidacy.

Rais has three elder siblings for he is the youngest-born child in a family of four children, namely Naam (born 1927), Suri (born 1932) and Atan (born 1934).

Tan Sri Dato' Seri Utama Dr. Rais bin Yatim (Jawi: رئيس بن يتيم; born 16 April 1942) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 18th President of the Dewan Negara.

In 1963, Rais was accepted into the Language Teaching College (LI) as a trainee teacher for 2 years.

While at LI, in addition to his duties as a trainee teacher, Rais produced many articles published by Utusan Zaman, Dewan Masharakat, Mastika and Dewan Bahasa.

Rais enrolled at Stamford Collage and later went on to study Law at the University of Singapore.

At the University of Singapore, among the figures who became his lecturers were Ramachandran Naidu (former court interpreter in Kuala Lumpur), Sulaiman Abdullah (well - known lawyer) and Dr. Chandra Muzaffar (former Vice President of PKR).

Rais was very active in participating in debate and speech competitions at the University of Singapore and often met Chandra in the competition.

He won the Beasley Shield Award for the general speech category, while Chandra won the debate competition.

He graduated from Language Institute (also known as Language Teaching College), Kuala Lumpur in 1964.

Rais through early education Standard I and II at Sekolah Melayu Triang (now Sekolah Kebangsaan Teriang), then move on to the School of Malay Gagu and Government English School, Taipei, Kuala Klawang.

While at GES, Rais's writing skills using elements of art and beautiful languages as well as his interest in reading began to take shape, which became the identity to his current writing and speaking style.

He was exposed to Shakespeare’s dialogues especially King Henry V, Hamlet, Midsummer Night Dream, Romeo and Juliet and others.

After graduating from the Cambridge Senior School Certificate (CSC), Rais worked as a temporary teacher at Sekolah Kebangsaan Astana Raja, in Rembau.

In 1965 to 1968, he taught Bahasa Malaysia to the American Peace Corps in the United States.

Upon his return from the US, Rais taught English, History, Science and Drawing at Undang Luak Jelebu Secondary School and then in 1967, he was assigned to Bandar Tinggi Secondary School.

Rais also worked as a translator at Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) in 1971 besides being a part-time lecturer in Commercial Law at Institut Teknologi Mara (now UiTM).

A lawyer by profession later, he received his Bachelor of Laws LL.B (Hons.) In 1973 and obtained an A mark in the paper “Comparative Law” which refined on the comparison of Adat Perpatih with Common Law.

In 1973 he became a lawyer and solicitor in the Kuala Lumpur High Court and then in 1998 became a lawyer in Singapore.

In the same year, Rais set up the law firm of Ram Rais & Yap.

He was a Cabinet Minister in multiple federal governments from 1974 to 2013 and the 8th Menteri Besar of Negeri Sembilan from 1978 to 1982.

He had been appointed a Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Menteri Besar of Negeri Sembilan (1978–1982), Minister of Land and Regional Development (1982–1984), Minister of Information (1984–1986) and Foreign Minister (1986–1987).

When he fell out of favour of the UMNO leadership in April 1987, he became the deputy leader of the opposition Parti Melayu Semangat 46 (S46 or Semangat 46), a breakaway party formed by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and UMNO members dissatisfied with Mahathir Mohamad's leadership.

During that times he also he resumed his law career and worked with a firm, Ram, Rais & Partner, from 1987 to 1999.

He was a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the leading party in previous ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, except for a period in the 1990s when he became a member of the opposition Parti Melayu Semangat 46 (S46).

He subsequently obtained a doctorate (Ph.D) in law from King’s College University of London in 1994 and his thesis was Rule Of Law and Executive Supremacy in Malaysia. His doctoral dissertation was eventually published in 1995 as Freedom Under Executive Power in Malaysia: A Study of Executive Supremacy.

Rais has held various positions in the national cabinet and other state government positions.

Like most Semangat 46 leaders, after the party was dissolved in 1996, he rejoined UMNO by the end of the decade.

He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Jelebu from November 1999 to May 2013.

Upon his return to the ministry in 1999, as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, he was effusive in his praise for Mahathir, who had outlasted the Semangat 46 movement with successive election victories.

He held the ministry until the 2004 election, after which Abdullah Badawi, who had replaced Mahathir on his retirement, appointed him as Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage.

In June 2007, Rais was nominated as a candidate for the post of the next Commonwealth Secretary-General after Don McKinnon's term in office ended in March 2008.

Rais served another term as Foreign Minister from 18 March 2008 until 9 April 2009, when the incoming Prime Minister Najib Razak appointed him as the Minister for Information, Communications and Culture.

During his short break from active politics before joining BERSATU, he became the President of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) from 2013 to 2018.

He remained in that ministry until the 2013 election, when he was dropped as a parliamentary candidate.

Speaking generally about Barisan Nasional's decision to drop a number of senior figures from its parliamentary lineup, Najib stated that it was to "satisfy the demands of voters who want to see Barisan Nasional and UMNO change and reform".

Rais accepted the decision and called on fellow UMNO members to remain loyal to the party.

Within a few months he was appointed as the President of the International Islamic University of Malaysia.

Presently he is a member of Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU) and its Chairman of the state of Negeri Sembilan, a component party of the ruling Perikatan Nasional (PN) since he left UMNO to join BERSATU on 4 June 2018.