Johari Abdul Ghani Explained

Honorific-Prefix:Yang Berhormat Datuk Seri Haji
Johari Abdul Ghani
Native Name:جوهري بن عبدالغني
Birth Name:Johari bin Abdul Ghani
Birth Date:1964 3, df=yes
Term Start:12 December 2023
Office1:Treasurer General of the Barisan Nasional
Term Start1:27 April 2023
1Blankname1:Chairman
1Namedata1:Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
Predecessor1:Hishammuddin Hussein
Office2:Vice President of the
United Malays National Organisation
Term Start2:18 March 2023
President2:Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
Alongside2:Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail & Mohamed Khaled Nordin
Predecessor2:Mahdzir Khalid
Term Start3:10 March 2023
Monarch3:Abdullah

Ibrahim Iskandar
Primeminister3:Anwar Ibrahim
Office4:Minister of Finance II
Monarch4:Abdul Halim

Muhammad V
Primeminister4:Najib Razak
Deputy4:Othman Aziz
Lee Chee Leong
Alongside4:Najib Razak
Term Start4:27 June 2016
Term End4:10 May 2018
Predecessor4:Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah
Constituency4:Titiwangsa
Office5:Deputy Minister of Finance
Monarch5:Abdul Halim
Primeminister5:Najib Razak
Minister5:Najib Razak

Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah
Alongside5:Chua Tee Yong
Term Start5:29 July 2015
Term End5:27 June 2016
Predecessor5:Ahmad Maslan
Successor5:Othman Aziz
Constituency5:Titiwangsa
Office6:Chairman of the UDA Holdings Berhad
Term Start6:8 July 2013
Term End6:28 July 2015
Minister6:Najib Razak
1Blankname6:Chief Executive Officer
Predecessor6:Nur Jazlan Mohamed
Successor6:Mohd Shafei Abdullah
Constituency Mp7:Titiwangsa
Parliament7:Malaysian
Term Start7:19 November 2022
Predecessor7:Rina Harun
(PHBERSATU)
Majority7:4,632 (2022)
Term Start8:5 May 2013
Term End8:9 May 2018
Predecessor8:Lo' Lo' Mohamad Ghazali (PAS)
Successor8:Rina Harun
(PH–BERSATU)
Majority8:866 (2013)
Citizenship:Malaysian
Occupation:Politician
Profession:Chartered Accountant
Residence:Desa Pandan, Kuala Lumpur
Party:United Malays National Organisation (UMNO)
Otherparty:Barisan Nasional (BN)
Spouse:Zurwati Haslinda Zainal Bahry,Nor Fairos Mohd Nasib

Johari bin Abdul Ghani (Malay: جوهري بن عبدالغني|label=[[Jawi alphabet|Jawi]]|script=arab|italic=unset, in Malay pronounced as /johari/; born 6 March 1964) or more commonly known as Dato' Jo is a Malaysian politician and chartered accountant who has served as Minister of Plantation and Commodities in the Unity Government administration under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim since December 2023, Chairman of the Asset Recovery Task Force on the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal (1MDB scandal) since March 2023[1] and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Titiwangsa from May 2013 to May 2018 and again since November 2022. He served as the Minister of Finance II in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Minister Najib Razak from June 2016 to the collapse of the BN administration in May 2018, Deputy Minister of Finance in the BN administration under former Prime Minister and Minister Najib and former Minister II Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah from July 2015 to his promotion to Minister II in June 2016 as well as Chairman of the UDA Holdings Berhad from July 2013 to his resignation in July 2015. He is a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of the BN coalition. He has served as the Treasurer General of BN since April 2023[2] and Vice President of UMNO since March 2023. He is also presently the only BN MP in Klang Valley.

Early life

Born and raised in Kampung Pandan, Kuala Lumpur, Johari received his primary school education at Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Kampung Pandan (now known as SRK Tun Hussein Onn)[3] from 1971 to 1976 and pursued his studies at Sekolah Menengah Aminuddin Baki[4] in Kampung Pandan from 1977 until 1981. He continued his tertiary education at Institut Teknologi MARA (ITM),[5] Shah Alam from 1982 until 1985 and obtained his Diploma in Accounting. He then furthered his accounting studies in the UK, which qualified him for a membership to the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants in 1988 and awarded Fellowship of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants in 1993.

Profession and corporate career

Johari is a qualified Chartered Accountant and he is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.[6]

He started his career at an international accounting firm, Peat Marwick & Co. (now part of KPMG)[7] as an auditor. Johari was active in the corporate world for more than 25 years. He held several senior positions, including group managing director and chairman in several companies, both listed and unlisted in the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. He also held positions as managing directors of companies involved in the fast food industries, manufacturing and agriculture.

Johari is active in various social and community services. He was appointed chairman of ‘Jawatankuasa Pemakanan Negara’ at the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry. He was also a member of ‘Lembaga Pelawat Hospital Kuala Lumpur’ and member of ‘Jawatankuasa Badan Amal & Aduan Rakyat Wilayah Persekutuan’.

Moreover, Johari sits on the Malaysia Economic Council.[8] The council, which is chaired by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, is responsible, among others, to formulate strategies to sustain the economic growth of Malaysia through foreign direct investment and domestic investments for the country and to monitor and analyze trends in the development of both global and domestic economy in order to formulate specific actions to spur the Malaysian economic growth.

Johari was also a member of the board of directors of Khazanah Nasional Berhad,[9] the sovereign wealth fund of the Government of Malaysia. He is also the chairman of the Langkawi Development Authority (LADA),[10] a government agency responsible for the development of the Langkawi Island as an international tourist destination. Johari was formerly the chairman of UDA Holdings Berhad, a government linked company that is involved in urban development. Datuk Seri Johari is a member of the board of trustees for the Yayasan Pelaburan Bumiputera,[11] the parent company of Permodalan Nasional Berhad which manages more than RM250 billion unit trust funds in Malaysia. Johari is active in the Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera (YPPB)[12] where he serves on the board of trustees. The YPPB is a strategic unit under the Prime Minister's Office established to strengthen Bumiputeras’ capability and expertise in the economy and education.

He is a founder and currently the chairman of Yayasan Bena Nusa and a board member of the Yayasan Pendidikan Titiwangsa, both of which were established to help to reduce urban poverty and improve educational outcomes for children of the urban poor.[13]

Political career

Member of Parliament (2013–2018, since 2022)

First term

Johari has been active in politics for more than 24 years since 1988. He has held various positions in UMNO and BN of Titiwangsa. In June 2010, he was made the Acting Chief of UMNO's Division of Titiwangsa and appointed as Barisan Nasional Coordinating Chairman for the Titiwangsa parliamentary constituency. Concerned with community issues raised by the Titiwangsa Parliament, he established a Community Service Center in Titiwangsa in July 2010. Amongst the major concerns of the Titiwangsa Parliament community were poverty, squatters’ settlement, infrastructure, vendors and others. The Community Service Center operated on Mondays to Fridays from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm.

In the 2013 general election, Johari was nominated by BN to contest for the Titiwangsa federal seat. He won the seat and was elected as the Titiwangsa MP for the first term after defeating Ahmad Zamri Asa'ad Khuzaimi of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) by 866 votes.[14]

On 27 July 2015, he was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Finance.[15] Following a cabinet reshuffle on 27 June 2016, Johari was promoted to the Minister of Finance II.[16]

In the 2018 general election, Johari was renominated by BN to defend the Titiwangsa seat. He lost the seat and was not reelected as the Titiwangsa MP after losing to Rina Harun of Pakatan Harapan (PH) by a minority of 4,139 votes.[17]

Second term

In the 2022 general election, Johari was renominated by BN to contest for seat. He regained the seat and was reelected as Titiwangsa MP for the second term after defeating Khalid Abdul Samad of PH, Rosni Adam of Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Khairuddin Abu Hassan of the Homeland Fighters Party (PEJUANG) by a majority of 4,632 votes.

Minister of Plantation and Commodities (since 2023)

In a cabinet reshuffle on 12 December 2023, Johari was reappointed to the Cabinet as Minister of Plantation and Commodities to replace Fadillah Yusof who was appointed the Minister of Energy Transition and Public Utilities.

Election results

Year!
ConstituencyCandidateVotesPctOpponent(s)VotesPctBallots castMajorityTurnout
2013P119 Titiwangsa, Kuala Lumpur (UMNO)23,03450.96%Ahmad Zamri Asa'ad Khuzaimi (PAS)22,16849.04%45,63186682.54%
2018 (UMNO)19,701 39.10%Rina Harun (BERSATU) 23,84047.31%50,858 4,13982.60%
Hj Mohamad Noor Mohamad (PAS)6,845 13.59%
2022 (UMNO)25,04241.15%Khalid Abdul Samad (AMANAH) 20,41033.54%60,8584,63275.37%
bgcolor= Rosni Adam (PAS)15,41823.86%
bgcolor=Khairuddin Abu Hassan (PEJUANG)8881.46%

Honours and awards

In recognition of his efforts in the areas of community, social, politics, corporate and business, he was conferred the Darjah Kebesaran Negeri Selangor (D.S.I.S) by Sultan Sharifuddin Idris Shah of Selangor which carries the title Dato’ in 2003. In 2005, he was conferred the Darjah Kebesaran Persekutuan Panglima Jasa Negara (P.J.N.) by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong XII Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Ibni Al-Marhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail which carries the title Datuk. On 1 February 2017, he was conferred with Darjah Seri Mahkota Wilayah (S.M.W.) by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong XV Sultan Muhammad V which carries the title Datuk Seri.[18]

Honour of Malaysia

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Anwar picks Goldman Sachs critic Johari to lead 1MDB task force. The Star. 10 March 2023. 28 April 2023.
  2. Web site: BN agrees to back unity government. The Star. 28 April 2023. 28 April 2023.
  3. Web site: SRK Tun Hussein Onn . 29 August 2014 . 6 October 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161006115721/http://skthokl.edu.my/ . dead .
  4. Web site: SMK Aminuddin Baki . 5 February 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140516193550/http://sabkl.edu.my/ . 16 May 2014 . dead .
  5. http://www.uitm.edu.my/index.php/en/ UiTM Official Page
  6. http://www.accaglobal.com/my/en/member/find-an-accountant/directory-of-member/results.html?isocountry=MY&FirstName=Johari&Surname=Abdul+Ghani&Location=&inputcountrysuspended=&orgid=ACCA&orby=FNA&ipp=5&pn=1&hid=&requestcount=1 Johari Abdul Ghani ACCA Membership 1991
  7. https://www.kpmg.com/global/en/pages/default.aspx KPMG
  8. https://twitter.com/PMOMalaysia/status/869070260124516352 Malaysia Economic Council Members
  9. http://www.khazanah.com.my/About-Khazanah/Board-of-Directors Khazanah Nasional
  10. Web site: Langkawi Development Authority (LADA) . 22 November 2017 . 14 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190414084822/https://www.lada.gov.my/mengenai-kami/profil/lembaga-pengarah . dead .
  11. https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=22498371 Yayasan Pelaburan Bumiputera PNB
  12. http://www.yayasanpeneraju.com.my/index.php?data-yayasan-peneraju=58 Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera (YPPB)
  13. http://www.yayasanpeneraju.com.my/index.php?data-yayasan-peneraju=58 Yayasan Bena Nusa
  14. http://www.parlimen.gov.my/profile-ahli.html?uweb=dr&id=3192 Parliament Malaysia Official Page
  15. http://www.theedgemarkets.com/en/article/ci-holdings-43-md%E2%80%99s-appointment-deputy-finance-minister Johari Appointed as Deputy Finance Minister
  16. News: Cabinet reshuffle: Two full ministers, four new deputy ministers announced [VIDEO]]. 2016-06-27. NST Online. 2017-02-23.
  17. News: Malaysia Votes 2018: BN's big names toppled, one after another. Nadirah. H. Rodzi. 10 May 2018. The Straits Times. 10 May 2018.
  18. News: Tun Ghafar dahului senarai penerima darjah WP. 2017-02-01. BH Online. 2017-02-23.
  19. Web site: Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat.
  20. Web site: DSIS Pertabalan. awards.selangor.gov.my.