Here’s All You Need To Know About Khairy Jamaluddin

KJ is currently contesting for Sungai Buloh under the Barisan Nasional (BN) banner.

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Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar, also known as KJ, raised eyebrows when he announced that he will be running for the Sungai Buloh parliamentary seat, a change from Rembau where he previously represented.

You may know him as our current caretaker health minister, but what else has he done?

Caretaker Health Minister Since 2021

Khairy Jamaluddin was appointed last year under the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration, when current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob took over as Prime Minister.

Since 27 August 2021, he has taken the reigns for Malaysian healthcare, most notably as the Coordinating Minister of the National Covid-19 vaccination in Malaysia (PICK), ensuring that everyone received the Covid-19 vaccine.

Cracking Down On Antivaxxers

During his time as the Coordinating Minister of PICK, he also faced attacks from antivaxxer groups, who refused to comply with the mandatory vaccines and claimed that the vaccines had deadly side-effects.

In response, he lodged a police report against them for spreading false news.

KJ Is All For MJ

KJ has also expressed support for the use of marijuana and marijuana-related products for medical use.

Instead of being vehemently against the use of marijuana in any sense, he is supportive of discussions regarding the positive uses of marijuana, cannabis, and cannabidiol (CBD) products.

Okay, maybe we still can’t smoke weed. Yet.
(Credit: Envato/Malay Mail)

Holy Smokes

As the Health Minister, he has also pushed for the Generational End Game ban, which is a total ban on the sale of cigarettes, vapes, tobacco, and related products for everyone born after 2007.

The idea is to reduce the amount of smokers in Malaysia by stopping the formation of new smoking habits and eventually eliminate the habit of smoking entirely.

This bill is officially called the Control of Tobacco Products and Smoking Bill 2022, but has brought with it contension on multiple sides.

The GEG is trying to cut off smoking before the habit starts.
(Credit: E-liquids UK/Andres Siimon via Unsplash)

The bill, 10 years in the making, was not able to be pushed through as Parliament was dissolved on 10 October 2022.

He’s No Stranger In Politics

Of course, KJ is a well-known name, having been around for a while. He started his political career under the wing of his father-in-law, the fifth Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

But politics has always been in his blood, having graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) and later a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory at University College London. While he worked as a journalist in international publications, he later on returned to his roots here in his home country.

A brief outline of KJ’s political duties is as follows:

2001 – 2004 : Exco of the Malaysian UMNO Youth Movement
2001 – 2004 : Deputy Chairman, Education Bureau of the Malaysian UMNO Youth Movement
2004 – 2022 : Head of Rembau Division UMNO Youth Movement
2004 – 2008 : Vice Head of UMNO Malaysia Youth Movement and Deputy Chairman of Barisan Nasional Malaysia Youth
2008 – 2018 : Head of UMNO Malaysia Youth Movement and Chairman of Barisan Nasional Youth.
2013 – 2018: Minister of Youth and Sports under Prime Minister at the time Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
2020 – 2021: Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation under Prime Minister at the time Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin
4 February 2021-16 August 2021: Coordinating Minister of the National COVID-19 Immunisation Program (PICK)
27 August 2021 – present: Health Minister under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob

Sungai Buloh, Here He Comes

Despite the sudden change away from his seat in Rembau, KJ has warmly thanked the Rembau people and expressed his excitement to get to know Sungai Buloh.

Since the announcement of the new constituency, he has been campaigning hard in Sungai Buloh, and has visited government clinics, night markets, youth groups, and more under the banner of Barisan Nasional (BN).

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Anne Dorall

Anne is an advocate of sustainable living and the circular economy, and has managed to mum-nag the team into using reusable containers to tapau food. She is also a proud parent of 4 cats and 1 rabbit.