Zairil Khir Johari

Zairil Khir Johari (born 17 October 1982) is a Malaysian politician and a member of the Democratic Action Party (DAP). He is the Penang State Executive Councillor for Infrastructure and Transport. He was elected as the State Assemblyman for Tanjong Bunga, Penang in the 2018 Penang State Election. Prior to that, he was the Member of Parliament for Bukit Bendera, Penang from 2013 to 2018, during which he was also the DAP Parliamentary Spokesperson for Education, Science and Technology.[2] He is the son of Khir Johari, a former Cabinet minister. In December 2018, Zairil married lawyer and political activist Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud.[3]

Yang Berhormat

Zairil Khir Johari

MLA
Penang State Executive Councillor for Infrastructure and Transport
Assumed office
16 May 2018
GovernorAbdul Rahman Abbas
Chief MinisterChow Kon Yeow
Preceded byChow Kon Yeow (Flood Mitigation, Transport)
Lim Hock Seng (Public Works and Utilities)
ConstituencyTanjong Bunga
Assistant Publicity Secretary Democratic Action Party[1]
Assumed office
September 2013
President of Football Association of Penang
In office
January 2017 – October 2017
Preceded byDato' Seri Nazir Ariff
Succeeded byDato' Tahir Jalaluddin
Executive Director of Penang Institute
In office
March 2014 – December 2016
Preceded byDato' Dr Woo Wing Thye
Succeeded byDato' Dr Ooi Kee Beng
Member of the Penang State Legislative Assembly
for Tanjong Bunga
Assumed office
9 May 2018
Preceded byTeh Yee Cheu (DAP)
Majority9,343 (2018)
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Bukit Bendera, Penang
In office
5 May 2013 – 9 May 2018
Preceded byLiew Chin Tong (DAP)
Succeeded byWong Hon Wai (DAP)
Majority32,778 (2013)
Personal details
Born
Zairil Khir Johari

(1982-10-17) 17 October 1982
CitizenshipMalaysian
Political partyDemocratic Action Party (DAP)
Other political
affiliations		Pakatan Harapan (PH)
Pakatan Rakyat (PR)
Spouse(s)Dahlia Hamzah (Divorced)
​
​
(m. 2018)​
ParentsKhir Johari
Alma materSchool of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
Multimedia University
OccupationPolitician
CEO, Penang Institute
Websitezairil.com

Early life, education and career

Zairil attended the Multimedia University in Cyberjaya, graduating with a bachelor's degree in Information Systems Engineering.[4] He then received a Master of Arts from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Upon his return to Malaysia, he started Chocolab, where he was the Chief Executive Officer.[5] In late 2010, he left the business to pursue politics full-time.

Political career

Entry into politics

In 2010, Zairil joined the DAP, a leading party in opposition to the UMNO-led national government. The choice — given that his father was a prominent UMNO politician and that he would be a rare Malay member of the DAP — attracted significant attention. He claimed that UMNO had changed for the worse since his father was a politician, and that "after more than 50 years of [UMNO] rule, the situation is such that people are being colonised, oppressed by our own people, we do not have any freedom."[6] He was appointed Political Secretary to DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng on 23 February 2011.[7]

At the DAP National Congress in December 2012, Zairil was elected to the Central Executive Committee (CEC) and appointed as the Assistant National Publicity Secretary. The election was re-run in 2013, after a tabulation error that had resulted in his exclusion. He was successful again the second time around.[8] In November 2017, Zairil was once again re-elected into the CEC and re-appointed as the Assistant National Publicity Secretary.[9]

DAP Penang

In 2013, Zairil was elected into the DAP Penang State Committee and subsequently appointed Vice-Chairman.[10] In the 2015 state party convention, he was reelected into the committee, placing third highest out of the fifteen elected members with a total vote of 490 out of 760 delegates. He was reappointed Vice-Chairman.[11]

Penang Institute

From 2012 to 2016, Zairil headed the Penang Institute, a public policy think tank to the State Government of Penang. Zairil has been in the forefront of co-ordinating most of its major activities in propagating the cause of Penang on the national and international arenas, and providing realistic solutions for the economic and social sustenance of the people of the Penang region[12] Under his leadership, the Institute organised the ASEAN Coalition for Clean Governance (ACCG).[13] The inaugural conference was held in June 2012, attracting participants from seven countries around the region.

In March 2014, Zairil was promoted to the post of Executive Director[14] and continued to hold this post until December 2016, when he stepped down to take over the reins of the Football Association of Penang.[15] He has since been appointed as a Senior Fellow of Penang Institute.[16]

Member of Parliament

During the 13th General Elections of Malaysia, Zairil won the Bukit Bendera parliamentary seat polling 45,591 votes defeating Barisan National candidate with 32,778 majority. One of the highest majorities won during the elections. He was also the youngest candidate to win a Parliamentary seat during the elections.[17]

Member of the Penang State Assembly

In the 14th General Election in 2018, Zairil was fielded in the state constituency of Tanjong Bunga where he faced off against Barisan Nasional Penang Chairman Teng Chang Yeow. Considered one of the more challenging seats due to controversies involving the former DAP State Assemblyman for Tanjong Bunga who had quit the party, Zairil went on to beat Teng by a majority of 9,343, nearly doubling the previous majority. Following his defeat, Teng announced his retirement from politics.[18]

Penang State Executive Councillor

With Pakatan Harapan emerging victorious in the 14th General Election, former Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was appointed the Malaysian Minister of Finance while DAP Penang Chairman Chow Kon Yeow took over the reins as Chief Minister of Penang. A new Penang State Cabinet was formed, with Zairil being appointed as the Penang State Executive Councillor for Public Works, Utilities and Flood Mitigation.[19] During a mid-term review exercise, Zairil's portfolio was renamed to Infrastructure and Transport, with the latter being an additional portfolio.[20]

Election results
Penang State Legislative Assembly: N22 Tanjong Bunga[21]
Year Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2018 Zairil Khir Johari (DAP) 13,245 75.38% Teng Chang Yeow (Gerakan) 3,902 22.2% 17,571 9,343 80.7%
Chua Cheong Wee (PRM) 122 0.6%
Lee Zheng Yong (MUP) 74 0.3%
Parliament of Malaysia: P048 Bukit Bendera, Penang[22][23][21]
Year Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2013 Zairil Khir Johari (DAP) 45,591 77.93% Teh Leong Meng (Gerakan) 12,813 21.90% 59,114 32,778 83.16%

Publications

Zairil was a columnist for the now-defunct news portal, The Malaysian Insider, from 2011 until its closure in 2016. He currently writes regularly for The Penang Monthly. In 2017, he published his first book, Finding Malaysia: Making Sense of an Eccentric Nation, a collection of his selected writings on identity politics, political Islam, federalism and education.[24] Finding Malaysia proved to be one of publisher Gerakbudaya's best-selling books of 2017.[25]

Zairil has also published book chapters in Secularism, Religion, and Democracy in Southeast Asia by Vidhu Verma,[26] Policies and Politics in Malaysian Education: Education Reforms, Nationalism and Neoliberalism by Cynthia Joseph,[27] Dialog: Thoughts on Tunku’s Timeless Thinking by the think tank IDEAS,[28] and Young and Malay: Growing up in Multicultural Malaysia by Ooi Kee Beng and Wan Hamidi Hamid.[29]

References
  1. "DAP national Leadership". Archived from the original on 12 June 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  2. http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/not-waiting-for-allies-dap-sets-up-shadow-cabinet
  3. https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2018/12/438892/zairil-dyana-tie-knot
  4. https://osc.mmu.edu.my/psc/csprd/EMPLOYEE/HRMS/s/WEBLIB_N_ROG.WEBSERVICE.FieldFormula.IScript_info?convocation=2004&id=31303031313637383135&encoded=Y
  5. https://www.bfm.my/chocolate-fair-mr.-zairil-khir-johari-lynn-chong-ceo-chocolab-shirin-asal-sdn.-bhd.-iranian.html
  6. Shazwan Mustafa Kamal (25 January 2011). "Zairil Khir Johari: Why I joined DAP". The Malaysian Insider. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  7. https://www.therocket.com.my/en/472/
  8. Ng, Eileen (29 September 2013). "Zairil gets bigger majority as same set of DAP leaders elected in fresh CEC polls". The Malaysian Insider. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  9. https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/11/12/dap-finalises-cec-lineup/
  10. https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2013/12/02/chow-returned-as-penang-dap-chairman/
  11. http://m.thestar.com.my/story.aspx?hl=Penang+DAP+committee+Teh+out+Chow+at+No+1+spot+again&sec=news&id=%7BD42D9DF6-F6F7-4D73-881E-E5E50B8C28C5%7D
  12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqHGXBjSl7A/
  13. http://penangmonthly.com/tag/asean-coalition-for-clean-governance/
  16. https://penangmonthly.com/winner2019.aspx
  17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 23 April 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. http://www.thesundaily.my/news/2018/05/10/teng-chang-yeow-quits-politics-following-ge14-loss
  19. http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2018/05/17/what-a-load-as-zairil-gets-the-works-in-exco/
  20. https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/09/09/chow-hands-transport-portfolio-to-zairil-in-mid-term-exco-reshuffle/
  21. "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Results only available from the 2004 election.
  22. "KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM 13". Sistem Pengurusan Maklumat Pilihan Raya Umum (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  23. "Keputusan PRU13". Archived from the original on 23 April 2013. Results only available from the 2004 election.
  24. http://gbgerakbudaya.com/home/product/finding-malaysia/
  25. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bd1iNJrDMlA/
  26. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/secularism-religion-and-democracy-in-southeast-asia-9780199496693?cc=my&lang=en&
  27. https://www.routledge.com/Policies-and-Politics-in-Malaysian-Education-Education-Reforms-Nationalism/Joseph/p/book/9781138550308
  28. http://gbgerakbudaya.com/home/product/dialog-thoughts-on-tunkus-timeless-thinking/
  29. http://gbgerakbudaya.com/home/product/young-and-malay-growing-up-in-multicultural-malaysia/
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