Serious, Sentimental & A Bit Funny: Who Is Ahmad Faizal Azumu?
The PM’s Special Advisor first forayed into politics just 10 years ago.
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Datuk Ahmad Faizal Azumu may have only started his political career 10 years ago, but in just a decade or so he has made quite the impact to have made it to “minister-level”.
As of 5 August 2021, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tambun is now also Special Advisor to Prime Minister Tan Sri Mahiaddin Md Yasin.
What does a Special Advisor to the PM do?
Faizal Azumu, who is also BERSATU’s Deputy President, will be in charge of advising Mahiaddin on matters related to community affairs, community communications and socio-economic development.
Before this considerable step up for Faizal Azumu, let’s take a quick look at what the former Perak Menteri Besar has done prior to his latest appointment.
In the beginning
Faizal Azumu was born in Ipoh, Perak on 10 June 1970.
The now 51-year-old attended all-boys school Cator Avenue School in Ipoh for his primary education and Anderson School in Ipoh for his secondary education.
For his higher education, Faizal Azumu pursued a Business Studies degree from Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia but did not complete the course.
Political journey and timeline
Faizal Azumu’s foray into politics began 10 years ago in 2011 at the of 41 when he was Special Officer to then Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai till 2013.
- 2013 – 2016: Senior Special Officer to then Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir
- 2016 – 2017: Ipoh Barat Youth Chief for the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO)
2017:
- Perak BERSATU chairman
- Subsequently in August became Perak Pakatan Harapan chairman
- Served in the now-defunct Special Affairs Department (JASA), an agency formed by Barisan Nasional (BN) and the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (MCMC)
2018 – 2020
- Served as Menteri Besar of Perak from May 2018, even through the fall of the Pakatan Harapan Federal Government, till UMNO and DAP MPs joined forces to oust him in 2020.
- Member of Parliament for Tambun since 9 May 2018
- Member of the Perak State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Chenderiang since 9 May 2018
- Member, Deputy President and State Chairman of Perak as well as Pahang for the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU)
Faizal Azumu is also one of only two Menteri Besars who have led state administrations in two different and opposing political coalitions.
From May 2018 to March 2020, he served with Pakatan Harapan (PH) and from March 2020 till his resignation in December 2020, he was with the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration.
READ MORE: What Happened To Faizal Azumu After The Confidence Vote?
2021
- Appointed ministerial-level Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on 5 August.
Controversies
Like his cohorts in the past and present, Faizal Azumu has also had his share of controversies.
- In 2018, Faizal Azumu turned heads for openly criticising Orang Asli indigenous tribes by saying they should improve themselves before asking for Aid.
- A year later in 2019, he claimed there is no definition or recognition of ancestral or customary land (tanah adat)for Orang Asli under the state constitution. He was later refuted by his fellow PH MP Ramkarpal Singh and the Malaysian Bar.
- Also in 2019, he was reported to have had a degree in Business Studies from Edith Cowan University in Perth but later openly admitted he did not complete the course.
- In June 2020, Faizal Azumu was spotted in a luxury Lexus ES Sedan but claimed Perak’s state government bought it for him at a discount of RM200,000 (basic model retail price is about RM300,000).
- Also in 2020, he famously said that the public should not blame politicians for the spike in Covid-19 cases back in October 2020, saying that anyone can get infected.
READ MORE: Politician Says Don’t Blame Politicians For Covid-19 Spike
Sentimental and with a sense of humour?
During his farewell speech after being voted out as Perak Menteri Besar in December 2020, Faizal Azumu not only expressed appreciation for his state executive council and lawmakers from both sides of the divide but said he missed his former colleagues in Pakatan Harapan.
“I would like to thank my comrades in Pakatan Harapan. I miss you guys sometimes actually. Seriously.”
Ahmad Faizal Azumu at the Perak Assembly Proceeding, 4 December 2020
It has also come to our attention that Faizal Azumu may be a bit of a funny man with various Gif’s of him online that look as though they were professionally shot for the intention of being a bit humourous.
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