KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 — Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob who has been appointed as the Deputy Prime Minister has extensive experience in politics and government administration, having held several ministerial positions including as a Senior Minister.
He was today appointed to the number two post of the government administration by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, while retaining his portfolio as Defence Minister.
The 61-year-old UMNO vice-president was in the cabinet from 2008 to 2018, as well as in March last year, after the fall of the Pakatan Harapan government.
As the senior minister responsible for national security issues, he has been making announcements on the government’s initiatives and measures in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to this, Ismail Sabri held the position of Youth and Sports Minister from March 2008 to April 2009, before being appointed Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister in April 2009.
In May 2013 to July 2015, he held the position of Agriculture and Agro -based Industry Minister before a cabinet reshuffle which saw him took over as Rural and Regional Development Minister.
One of the notable initiatives he undertook as the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister was ‘jihad memerangi orang tengah’ which was introduced to get rid of middlemen who profited from the hard work of farmers and fishermen.
He also introduced the MARA Digital initiative so that Bumiputeras in business would not be left behind in information and communication technology when he was the Rural and Regional Development Minister.
A University of Malaya graduate with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree, Ismail Sabri began his career as a lawyer in 1985 and previously served as directors of the Pahang Tenggara Development Authority (DARA) and Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board.
Born in Temerloh, Pahang, he married Datin Seri Muhaini Zainal Abidin in 1986 and they were blessed with three sons and a daughter.
Ismail Sabri began to be actively involved in politics in 1987 as a committee member of the Temerloh UMNO division before being made the division’s information chief the following year and elected as the Temerloh UMNO Youth chief in 1993.
In 1995, he served as the political secretary to the (then) Culture, Arts, and Tourism Minister Datuk Sabaruddin Chik, before holding the position of Temerloh UMNO Division deputy chief and later the division head in 2001.
He contested the Bera parliamentary seat in the 11th General Election (GE) in March and defeated Ab Wahab Ismail of PAS by a majority of 4,470 votes, while the GE12 held in March 2008 saw him winning the seat against Mazlan Aliman, also from PAS with a majority of 3,821 votes.
In August 2008, he held the position of Bera UMNO Division chief and in March 2009, he was elected as the party Supreme Council member for the 2008/2011 term before being re-elected for the 2013/2016 term.
In the GE13, which was held in May 2013 and the GE14 in May 2018, Ismail Sabri retained his parliamentary seat in a three-cornered fight against Zakaria Abdul Hamid of PKR and an independent candidate.
He was elected UMNO vice-president in July 2018 and held the post of Selangor UMNO Liaison Committee chairman from 2018 to May 2019.
In March 2018, Ismail Sabri was made the opposition leader in Parliament following the defeat of Barisan Nasional (BN) in GE14 in May that year and elected the UMNO Vice President for the 2018/2021 term.
