Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim

Datuk Seri Panglima Abdul Azeez bin Abdul Rahim (Jawi: عبدالعزيز بن عبدالرحيم, Tamil: அப்துல் அஸீஸ் பின் அப்துல் ரஹீம், romanized: Aptul asīs piṉ aptul rahīm; born 19 November 1966) is a Malaysian politician and businessman who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Baling from May 2013 to November 2022 and Chairman of the Tabung Haji (TH) from July 2013 to his resignation in May 2018. He is a member of United Malay National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. He has served as the State Deputy Chairman of UMNO of Kedah since March 2023.[1]

In this Malay name, there is no family name. The name Abdul Rahim is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Abdul Azeez .
Yang Berbahagia Datuk Seri Panglima
Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim
PJN SPDK DCSM SSAP DIMP DHMS
عبد العزيز عبد الرحيم‎
Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim
Chairman of the Tabung Haji
In office
1 July 2013 – 14 May 2018
Prime MinisterNajib Razak
(2013–2018)
Mahathir Mohamad
(2018)
Preceded byAbi Musa Asa'ari Mohamed Nor
Succeeded byMohammed Nor Md Yusof
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Baling
In office
5 May 2013 – 19 November 2022
Preceded byTaib Azamudden Md Taib
(PR–PAS)
Succeeded byHassan Saad
(PN–PAS)
Majority5,185 (2013)
1,074 (2018)
State Deputy Chairman of the
United Malays National Organisation of Kedah
Assumed office
22 March 2023
PresidentAhmad Zahid Hamidi
State ChairmanMahdzir Khalid
Preceded bySuraya Yaacob
Personal details
Born
Abdul Azeez bin Abdul Rahim

(1966-11-19) 19 November 1966
Selangor, Malaysia
Political partyUnited Malays National Organisation (UMNO)
Other political
affiliations		Barisan Nasional (BN)
SpouseKhadijah Mohd Noor
Children4
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionBusinessman
Websitewww.azeezrahim.com

Early life

Abdul Azeez was born as the third child out of 5 siblings.

Political career

Party career

Abdul Azeez was elected to UMNO's Supreme Council, the body that governs the party, in 2009. He was the 25th and final candidate elected.[2] He was re-elected to the Supreme Council in 2013, this time finishing in seventh place.[3] He formerly headed "Putera UMNO", a group for young members of UMNO when he was the EXCO member of UMNO Youth.[4]

Parliamentary career

Azeez was chosen as the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the seat of Baling at the 2008 election. He lost to the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) candidate, Taib Azamudden Md Taib, by 7,613 votes. The state of Kedah swung back to BN at the 2013 election, and Azeez, selected again as the BN candidate in Baling, was elected to Parliament.[5] He was re-elected in the 2018 election.

GLC and NGO career

In 2011 Abdul Azeez became a director of Tabung Haji (TH), a Malaysian fund for Muslims to save for the hajj pilgrimage. In 2013, after his election to Parliament, he became Tabung Haji's chairman.[6] However, in 2018, after his reelection as member of parliament and the change of ruling government to Pakatan Harapan (PH), he resigned as chairman of Tabung Haji.[7]

Azeez also founded and headed the Putera 1Malaysia Club (Kelab Putera 1Malaysia), a non-government organization that has, among other things, led humanitarian missions to Gaza.[8] In 2012 Hamas appointed him as an honorary ambassador for Palestine.[9]

Controversies and issues

Corruption allegations

On 22 May 2018, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) raided and seized over RM500,000 in cash of various currencies, some documents, jewellery and luxury watches in several houses and offices in four states occupied by Azeez.[10][11] In the midst of MACC investigation, Azeez announced he had tendered his resignation as the Tabung Haji's chairman on 14 May 2018.[7][12]

The MACC arrested Azeez with his elder brother and cousin on 25 September 2018.[13][14] Azeez was released on RM500,000 bail after his 10-day MACC remand ended.[15] But MACC arrested his 24-year-old son the same day he was released.[16]

Tabung Haji on 30 November 2018 reported to police against Azeez as its former chairman and senior management over alleged misuse of RM22 million belonging to a charitable fund for politically linked activities.[17]

The MACC again arrested Azeez and his brother on 15 January 2019 where he was charged with 3 counts of RM 5.2 million graft and 9 counts of RM 139.4 million money laundering totaling RM 144.6 million on the next day.[18]

On 7 August 2019, Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court set 25 Sep and 11 Oct to hear the corruption case of Azeez and his brother. After Judge Azura Alwi announced the dates, however, Deputy Public Prosecutor Azlinda Ahad said the prosecution will apply to transfer the case to the High Court. Defence lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik did not raise any objection to the prosecution's plan.[19]

Racism and misogyny

On 13 July 2020, during the first parliament sitting after the change in government, Azeez provoked a controversy for making racist and sexist comments. After the MP for Batu Kawan, Kasthuriraani Patto posed a question about the lack of women's representation, Azeez responded "sebab gelap, tak nampak" ("because it's too dark to see"), a comment seen as referring to her skin colour, despite the fact that his skin is the same colour. Azeez later retracted his statement without apologising before adding "if you are dark, put on some powder". Due to the incident, the Dewan Rakyat was adjourned for the day.

On 14 July 2020, Azeez was ordered by the Speaker to apologise to Kasthuriraani Patto during the morning session of the Parliament, after the Speaker ruled that his remarks were offensive.[20][21] Azeez obeyed the order, but then went on to deflect blame by claiming that he had no intention of calling anyone "gelap", saying, "I was seated on that side for two years, and the area is "gelap" (dark) and we hardly get the Speaker's attention. I meant to say that the area is dark. It is important for the people to understand that I did not mean to call anyone with that word as I myself is dark-skinned, so there is really no reason for me to say that."[20]

Kasthuriraani Patto objected to Azeez's excuse, and urged for firmer action by the Speaker, stating that Azeez was a repeat offender and that he obviously had no remorse. The Speaker however refused to prolong the issue, instead saying that he would take sterner action if the incident recurred.[20]

Personal life

He is married with Khadijah and have 4 children, namely Mohd Khairul Anwar, Mohd Khairul Azman, Khaleeda Azwa and Khaleeda Azeera respectively. He is fluent with Malay, English and Tamil.

Election results
Parliament of Malaysia[5][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2008 P016 Baling, Kedah Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (UMNO) 28,461 44.10% Taib Azamudden Md Taib (PAS) 36,074 55.90% 65,764 7,613 83.47%
2013 Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (UMNO) 43,504 53.17% Najmi Ahmad (PAS) 38,319 46.86% 83,109 5,185 89.20%
2018 Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (UMNO) 38,557 42.60% Hassan Saad (PAS) 37,483 41.41% 92,128 1,074 85.93%
Mohd Taufik Yaacob (PPBM) 14,472 15.99%
2022 Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (UMNO) 35,356 32.42% Hassan Saad (PAS) 64,493 59.13% 110,353 29,137 82.75%
Johari Abdullah (AMANAH) 8,636 7.92%
Bashir Abdul Rahman (PUTRA) 579 0.53%

Honours

Malaysian honours

See also

References
  1. "The day Abdul Azeez and Manivannan made history". Malaysiakini. 4 October 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  2. "UMNO Election 2008 Results". Bernama. 26 March 2009. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  3. "Umno polls: Results for VP and supreme council". The Star. 20 October 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  4. Hamdan Raja Abdullah (14 February 2007). "35 Putra UMNO members begin parachute training". The Star. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  5. "Maklumat Terperinci Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum 2013". Election Commission of Malaysia. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  6. "Baling MP Abdul Azeez is new Tabung Haji chair". The Malaysian Insider. 2 July 2013. Archived from the original on 4 December 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  7. "Azeez confirms he has quit as Tabung Haji chairman". Free Malaysia Today. 24 May 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  8. "NGO declares Gaza mission a success". New Straits Times. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  9. "Abdul Azeez appointed honorary ambassador for Palestine". The Malaysian Insider. 13 December 2012. Archived from the original on 4 December 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  10. Bythecoverage (23 May 2018). "MACC Raid Tabung Haji Chief's UMNO Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim Home – Seize RM500,000 Cash And Documents". The Coverage. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  11. Muhammad Mustakim Ramli and Mohd Hasbi Sidek (23 May 2018). "MACC raids three properties linked to Azeez Rahim". New Straits Times. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  12. "Abdul Azeez resigns as Tabung Haji chairman". The Star. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  13. "MACC arrests Baling MP Azeez Abdul Rahim – report". Malaysiakini. The Edge Markets. 25 September 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  14. "Graft investigators digging into Abdul Azeez's past". The Star. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  15. "Baling MP Abdul Azeez released on RM500,000 bail". The Edge Markets. Bernama. 5 October 2018. Archived from the original on 6 October 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  16. Mazwin Nik Anis (5 October 2018). "Baling MP Abdul Azeez released – but his son is arrested". The Star. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  17. Ida Lim (30 November 2018). "Tabung Haji's ex-chair Azeez, senior management named in alleged funds misuse probe". Malay Mail. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  18. Nurbaiti Hamdan (16 January 2019). "Abdul Azeez hit with 12 counts of graft and money laundering (Updated)". The Star. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  19. "Ex-Tabung Haji chairman's graft case hearing on Sept 25, Oct 11". 8 August 2019.
  20. "Speaker asks Abdul Azeez to apologise for using offensive words 'gelap', 'bedak'". Borneo Post Online. 14 July 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  21. Naqib Idris, Ahmad (13 July 2020). "Amid commotion, new Speaker adjourns Parliament sitting until tomorrow". The Edge Markets.
  22. "Malaysia Decides 2008". The Star. Archived from the original on 9 April 2008. Retrieved 25 January 2010. Percentage figures are calculated based on total turnout.
  23. "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  24. "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Results only available from the 2004 election.
  25. "KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM 13". Sistem Pengurusan Maklumat Pilihan Raya Umum (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Archived from the original on 14 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  26. "my undi : Kawasan & Calon-Calon PRU13 : Keputusan PRU13 (Archived copy)". myundi.com.my. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  27. "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13". Utusan Malaysia. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  28. "SEMAKAN KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM KE – 14" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  29. "The Star Online GE14". The Star. Retrieved 24 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  30. "Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat". Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  31. "Raja Muda of Kedah heads state awards list". The Star. 15 January 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  32. "Pengerusi Tabung Haji dikurnia SJMK". Utusan Malaysia (in Malay). 13 November 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  33. "Kelantan palace revokes Azeez's datukship". N Faizal Ghazali. Malaysiakini. 11 April 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  34. "Dr Wee gets Malacca award". The Star. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  35. "Legenda bola sepak terima darjah kebesaran". Utusan Malaysia (in Malay). 24 October 2000. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  36. "Abdul Azeez heads list of Sabah Award recipients". The Star. Bernama. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
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