| Honorific-Prefix: | Yang Amat Berbahagia Tun |
| Mohamed Zahir Ismail | |
| Native Name: | Malay: {{Script|Arab|محمد ظاهر إسماعيل |
| Birth Date: | 19 March 1924 |
| Birth Place: | Alor Setar, Kedah, Unfederated Malay States, British Malaya (now Malaysia) |
| Death Place: | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| Resting Place: | Section 21 Muslim Cemetery, Shah Alam, Selangor |
| Order: | 6th |
| Office: | Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat |
| Primeminister: | Mahathir Mohamad Abdullah Ahmad Badawi |
| Term Start: | 14 June 1982 |
| Term End: | 14 October 2004 |
| Predecessor: | Syed Nasir Ismail |
| Successor: | Ramli Ngah Talib |
| Party: | United Malays National Organisation |
| Otherparty: | Barisan Nasional |
| Profession: | Advocate, solicitor |
| Spouse: | Halimatun Sa'adiah Chik |
Tun Mohamed Zahir bin Ismail (19 March 1924 – 14 October 2004) was a Malaysian lawyer and politician who served as the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower chamber of the Malaysian Parliament from June 1982 to his death in October 2004. He was the longest-serving officeholder by serving for 22 years, 4 months. He was also the first Chancellor of the International Medical University from 1999 to 2004.
Mohamed Zahir was born in Alor Setar, Kedah. He attended Sekolah Kebangsaan Hosba in Jitra and later Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid, Alor Setar. He obtained his Bachelor of Laws from Lincoln's Inn in 1955.
Mohamed Zahir began practising as a lawyer from 1956. After the independence of Malaya, he served as the Kedah State EXCO from 1959 to 1963, and briefly as Menteri Besar in 1963. He was appointed to the Dewan Negara (the upper house) in August 1963, and completed two terms (of three years each) as a Senator.
He was actively involved in the formation of the Malaysia, serving as a diplomat to the United Nations and as the Malayan representative to the Cobbold Commission. In 1975, he was appointed to the Kota Bharu High Court as a judge.
Now a respected figure in Malaysian politics, he was elected Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat following the 1982 general elections, a post he held for 22 years. During his tenure, he also became President of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum and the ASEAN Inter Parliamentary Assembly.
In October 2004, Mohamed Zahir died in office due to acute renal failure in Kuala Lumpur General Hospital.[1] He was laid to rest beside the grave of his wife, Toh Puan Halimatun Saadiah Chik, at the Section 21 Muslim burial ground in Shah Alam, Selangor.[2]
| Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Pct | Opponent(s) | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | N14 Kota | (UMNO) | ||||||||||||
| Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Pct | Opponent(s) | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | P012 Sungei Patani | (UMNO) | 14,177 | 70.23% | bgcolor= | Teh Pek Choon (SF) | 3,680 | 18.22% | 20,714 | 10,497 | 76.28% | ||
| Syed Jan Aljeffri (PMIP) | 1,176 | 5.83% | |||||||||||
| bgcolor= | Ong Boon Seong (UDP) | 1,154 | 5.72% | ||||||||||