Noh Omar

Noh bin Omar (Jawi: نوح بن عمر; born 23 February 1958) is a Malaysian politician. He is the incumbent Member of the Parliament for the Tanjong Karang constituency in Selangor and was also the Malaysian Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government (2016-2018). He is a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a major party in the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.[1]

In this Malay name, there is no family name. The name Omar is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Noh.
Yang Berhormat Tan Sri Datuk Seri

Noh Omar

PSM KMN DGSM DSAP DPMS MP
نوح بن عمر
Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government
In office
27 June 2016 – 10 May 2018
MonarchAbdul Halim
Muhammad V
Prime MinisterNajib Razak
DeputyHalimah Mohamed Sadique
Preceded byAbdul Rahman Dahlan
Succeeded byZuraida Kamaruddin (Housing and Local Government)
Waytha Moorthy Ponnusamy (Social Wellbeing)
ConstituencyTanjong Karang
Minister for Agriculture and Agro-based Industry
In office
10 April 2009 – 15 May 2013
MonarchMizan Zainal Abidin
Abdul Halim
Prime MinisterNajib Razak
DeputyRohani Abdul Karim (2009–2010)
Mohd Johari Baharum (2009–2013)
Chua Tee Yong (2010–2013)
Preceded byMustapa Mohamed
Succeeded byIsmail Sabri Yaakob
ConstituencyTanjong Karang
Minister for Entrepreneur and Co-operatives Development
In office
18 March 2008 – 9 April 2009
MonarchMizan Zainal Abidin
Prime MinisterAbdullah Ahmad Badawi
DeputySaifuddin Abdullah
Preceded byMohamed Khaled Nordin
Succeeded byIsmail Sabri Yaakob as Minister of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism
ConstituencyTanjong Karang
Deputy Minister of Education I
In office
14 February 2006 – 18 March 2008
Serving with Han Choon Kim
MonarchSirajuddin
Mizan Zainal Abidin
Prime MinisterAbdullah Ahmad Badawi
MinisterHishammuddin Hussein
Preceded byMahadzir Mohd Khir
Succeeded byRazali Ismail
ConstituencyTanjong Karang
Deputy Minister of Internal Security
In office
27 March 2004 – 14 February 2006
Serving with Chia Kwang Chye
MonarchSirajuddin
Prime MinisterAbdullah Ahmad Badawi
MinisterAbdullah Ahmad Badawi
Preceded byZainal Abidin Zin as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs
Succeeded byMohd Johari Baharum
ConstituencyTanjong Karang
Parliamentary Secretary,
Prime Minister's Department
In office
15 December 1999 – 26 March 2004
MonarchSalahuddin
Sirajuddin
Prime MinisterMahathir Mohamad
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
MinisterAbdul Hamid Othman (1999–2001)
Abdul Hamid Zainal Abidin (2001–2004)
Preceded byMuhammad Abdullah
Succeeded byMashitah Ibrahim
ConstituencyTanjong Karang
Chairman of Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Berhad (PUNB)
Assumed office
23 June 2020
MinisterMohd Redzuan Md Yusof
CEOIzwan Zainuddin
Preceded byHazimah Zainuddin
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Tanjong Karang
Assumed office
25 April 1995
Preceded bySaidin Adam (UMNO–BN)
Majority15,818 (1995)
2,075 (1999)
9,008 (2004)
3,820 (2008)
4,394 (2013)
1,970 (2018)
Personal details
Born
Noh bin Omar

(1958-02-23) 23 February 1958
Sungai Burong, Tanjung Karang, Selangor, Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia)
Political partyUnited Malays National Organisation (UMNO)
Other political
affiliations		Barisan Nasional (BN)
Perikatan Nasional (PN)
Muafakat Nasional (MN)
Spouse(s)Aishah Salleh Nooraisha Farizan
Children7
Alma materThames Valley University (L.LB)
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionLawyer

Early life

Noh was born on 23 February 1958 at Sungai Burong, Tanjung Karang, Selangor. He had his early education at Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Sungai Burong (1965), later Sekolah Menengah Aminuddin Baki (1977) and then Maktab Perguruan Temenggong Ibrahim. He continued his study later to Thames Valley University.

He had been a teacher in Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah, Kula Selangor in 1983. After he graduated and returned from Thames Valley University, he served as a legal officer at Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) in 1988 before he started his own law firm, Ahmad Famy & Noh.

Noh is married to Prof. Dr. Aishah Salleh and the couple has one daughter; Nurul Syazwani.[2]

Political career

Noh was appointed to the federal Cabinet by Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi as Minister for Entrepreneur and Co-operative Development after winning the parliamentary constituency of Tanjong Karang in the 2008 election.[3] On 10 April 2009, he was appointed as Minister for Agriculture and Agro-based Industry by Abdullah's successor, Prime Minister Najib Razak.[4] Najib dropped him from the Cabinet after the 2013 election even though he manage to retain his seat.[5] But he was reappointed to Cabinet as Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government on 27 June 2016.[6]

Controversies

In 2005, while as Deputy Minister for Internal Security, Noh made international news for his role in the Squatgate controversy concerning the alleged mistreatment of an ethnic Chinese woman by Malaysian police. In response to the revelation of mistreatment and protests by the Chinese government, Noh stated "if foreigners think that Malaysia police are brutal, please go back to their own countries and not to stay here".[7] Noh was reprimanded by Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi,[8] and Noh issued an apology for his comments that BBC News described as 'grudging at best'.[9]

In 2012, Noh Omar has been accused of conflict of interest and abusing his power as Minister for Agriculture and Agro-based Industry and Tanjong Karang Member of Parliament for entering a joint-venture to run a prawn farm in 2011 on his own 30-acre, about the size of 15 football fields land; Lot 26426, Bagan Tengkorak in Tanjong Karang which he had bought allegedly below market price only for RM100,000 after he became a Member of Parliament in 1995 and the land certificate of ownership was issued by the Selangor Land Ownership Registrar in September 2009, five months after Noh was appointed to his current cabinet position.[10][11][12][13] Under the 1 January 2011 agreement, Noh had given consent to Pristine Agrofood Sdn Bhd to operate the prawn farm on the land for 10 years for the guaranteed price of at least RM25,200 per year.[14] Revealed documents also showed that Noh inked a private caveat sought by Pristine Agrofood to not sell the land for 10 years, beginning 2011 to maintain the farm.[12][13][14][15]

Noh Omar was also questioned over the Programme of Peoples' Rice Subsidy Voucher or SUBUR (Malay: Baucer Subsidi Beras Untuk Rakyat) which should have manage the rice distribution for the needy peoples introduced when he was the Minister for Agriculture and Agro-based Industry.[11]

In 2016, as Malaysian Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government, he introduced a controversial initiative that would have enabled property developers to give out loans to buyers at an interest rate of 12 per cent with collateral and 18 per cent without collateral.[16] Noh said that the move was intended to assist Malaysians who had been unable to get a full housing loan from banks or those who may only be given a partial housing loan. The proposal was lauded by the Malaysian Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) as it claimed that it helps developers who were finding it difficult to sell homes as more home buyers were being denied loans by banks. However, the proposal was met with fierce opposition, including from then colleague Second Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani who deemed the proposal illogical and unsustainable.

The Malaysian National House Buyers Association and economists warned that Malaysia risked a subprime crisis with the proposal for property developers to get moneylending licences. CIMB chairman Datuk Seri Nazir Razak also spoke out against the "dangerous" idea, saying the focus should have been instead on ensuring that only house buyers who can afford to buy the houses are able to access bank loans at fair prices, giving borrowing subsidies to the needy, and providing more affordable housing.

In the lead-up to the 2018 Malaysian general election, Noh was one of seven MPs from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition named on electoral watchdog Bersih's "Election Offenses Hall of Shame". He was criticised for misusing resources from the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government (KPKT in Malay), which he is the minister of, to hold campaign events in Gombak. He has been giving out cash in an attempt to assist fellow BN candidate Abdul Rahim Kamarudin's attempts to win the marginal[17] constituency off Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali. This was slammed as "bribery" and an attempt to "unduly influence voters" by Bersih.[18]

In a Parliament of Malaysia sitting in April 2019, he made a series of controversial remarks, stating that “Stealing is not wrong, only when you are arrested it becomes wrong. Riding a motorcycle without a helmet is not wrong; only when the police arrest you, it becomes wrong.”[19] Noh Omar gave the analogy when he was trying to demand equal and fair treatment for all politicians entering schools, as principals who allowed him to enter their premises had been warned by the State Education Department, as per existing regulations on politicians requiring clearance from State Education Departments before any school visits. Noh claimed that this regulation was not enforced by previous Barisan Nasional governments, whilst RSN Rayer from the Democratic Action Party disputed the claim in Parliament and countered that previous Opposition Malaysian Members of Parliament were denied entry to visit schools by respective State Education Departments under previous Barisan Nasional governments.

Election results
Parliament of Malaysia[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]
Year Constituency Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
1995 P87 Tanjong Karang, Selangor Noh Omar (UMNO) 20,962 76.48% Nordin Abdul Latif (S46) 5,144 18.77% 27,410 15,818 66.59%
1999 Noh Omar (UMNO) 15,841 51.98% Md Yusoff Abd Wahab (PAS) 13,766 45.17% 30,478 2,075 72.37%
2004 P95 Tanjong Karang, Selangor Noh Omar (UMNO) 17,750 65.27% Abdul Ghani Samsudin (PAS) 8,742 32.14% 27,196 9,008 75.93%
2008 Noh Omar (UMNO) 16,073 55.32% Mohamed Hanipa Maidin (PAS) 12,253 42.18% 29,052 3,820 79.83%
2013 Noh Omar (UMNO) 20,548 54.40% Mohd Rashidi Deraman (PAS) 16,154 42.77% 37,768 4,394 89.22%
Masrun Tamsi @ Herman Tino (IND)[28] 340 0.90%
2018 Noh Omar (UMNO) 17,596 43.45% Zulkafperi Hanapi (PPBM) 15,626 38.58% 41,184 1,970 87.26%
Nor Az Azlan Ahmad (PAS) 7,276 17.97%

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

References
  1. "Maklumat Ahli Parlimen: Noh Bin Haji Omar, YB Tan Sri" (in Malay). Portal Rasmi Parlimen Malaysia. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  2. "NOH OMAR, DATUK". SAIEE DRISS (in Malay). BIODATA TOKOH. 2 March 2008. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  3. "New ministers: PM's reminder a timely one". The Star. 21 March 2008. Archived from the original on 2 May 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
  4. "28-strong Cabinet". Daily Express (Malaysia). 10 April 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
  5. "Making sense of Najib's Cabinet". Malaysian Insider. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  6. "Noh Omar is new Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister". EdgeProp.my. 27 June 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  7. Kent, Jonathan (30 November 2005). "Malaysia minister defends police". BBC News. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
  8. "Pak Lah: Noh statement totally against Government's policy on visitors". The Star. 1 December 2005. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
  9. Kent, Jonathan (30 November 2005). "Malaysia police minister 'sorry'". BBC News. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
  10. "Look in the mirror before accusing Selangor gov't, Noh told". Malaysiakini. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  11. "Di mana beras itu sekarang, Noh?" (in Malay). Malaysiakini. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  12. "'Something fishy with Noh's 30-acre prawn farm land'". Malaysiakini. 1Christians Malaysia. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  13. "Prawn Farm Scandal: Noh Got Land 'After Becoming MP'". Malaysiakini. Malaysian Digest. 27 September 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  14. "Noh Omar Accused of Being JV Partner of Prawn Farm". Malaysiakini. Malaysian Digest. 8 August 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  15. "Noh Omar 'not mere landlord' of prawn farm". malaysiansmustknowthetruth.blogspot. 7 August 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  16. "DPM: Noh Omar didn't brief Cabinet on proposed developer loan scheme| Malay Mail". www.malaymail.com. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  17. "Marginal seats to watch out for in GE14 | Malay Mail". www.malaymail.com. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  18. "MEDIA STATEMENT (29 APRIL 2018): BERSIH 2.0 Unveils New Line-up in the Hall of Shame 10 days to Polling Day". www.bersih.org. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  19. "Stealing's only a crime if you're caught, says BN's Noh Omar| Malay Mail". www.malaymail.com. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  20. "Malaysia Decides 2008". The Star. Archived from the original on 9 April 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2010. Includes 2004 election results. Results from earlier elections not available.
  21. "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 19 June 2010. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  22. "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Results only available from the 2004 election.
  23. "KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM 13". Sistem Pengurusan Maklumat Pilihan Raya Umum (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 24 March 2017.Results only available for the 2013 election.
  24. "my undi : Kawasan & Calon-Calon PRU13 : Keputusan PRU13 (Archived copy)". www.myundi.com.my. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  25. "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13". Utusan Malaysia. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  26. "SEMAKAN KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM KE - 14" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 17 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  27. "The Star Online GE14". The Star. Retrieved 24 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  28. Nor Akmar Samudin, Nadia Hamid dan Rizanizam Abdul Hamid (14 April 2018). "'Lima sen pun tak dapat' - Herman Tino" (in Malay). myMetro. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  29. "SEMAKAN PENERIMA DARJAH KEBESARAN, BINTANG DAN PINGAT". Prime Minister's Department (Malaysia). Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  30. "King's birthday honours list". Bernama. The Star. 4 June 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.