Muhammad Muhammad Taib

Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Muhammad bin Haji Muhammad Taib
Malaysian Minister of Rural and Regional Development
In office 18 March 2008 – 9 April 2009
Preceded by	Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin
Succeeded by	Shafie Apdal
11th Menteri Besar of Selangor
In office 14 August 1986 – 14 April 1997
Preceded by	Ahmad Razali Mohd Ali
Succeeded by	Abu Hassan Omar
Personal details
Born	(1945-07-29) 29 July 1945 Hulu Selangor, Selangor, British Malaya (now Malaysia)
Political party	PAS - Pakatan Rakyat (2013-present) UMNO - Barisan Nasional (1964-2013)
Spouse(s)	Asbi Rohani Asnan and
Religion	Islam

Tan Sri Muhammad bin Haji Muhammad Taib (also fondly known as Mat Taib)^[1] is a Malaysian politician who currently is a PAS member. He was the former Rural and Regional Development Minister. He was also the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) information chief and former Menteri Besar of Selangor. He contested the post of UMNO deputy president in 2009 but lost.

Early life and education

Born in Kampung Sungai Manggis, Kuala Kalumpang, Hulu Selangor. He went to and English Primary School in Kuala Kubu, Baru. Muhammad is a graduate from Universiti Malaya and was also a former teacher in SMK Kuala Kubu Baru.

Politics

The political veteran joined UMNO in 1964, and quickly rose within its ranks to be elected UMNO vice president in 2004. He was also appointed as Selangor Umno deputy state liaison committee chief in the same year.

Muhammad was also former Batang Kali state assemblyman, winning in the general elections of 1982, 1986, 1990 and 1995. He served as Menteri Besar of Selangor from 1986 to 1997. However, he was forced to resign as Selangor Mentri Besar in April 1997 after he was charged in Australia over currency irregularities amounting to RM3.8mil. However, he was later found not guilty.^[2] Muhammad Muhammad Taib was cleared by the court as he pleaded that he did not understand English and therefore did not understand the currency regulations. However, in a later development, an investigative committee found that the court had erred in its judgment.^[3]

Eloped with Selangor princess

Whilst serving as the Mentri Besar of Selangor, he eloped with Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah's daughter, Tengku Puteri Zaharia Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah to Thailand where they reportedly got married.^[4] Later when asked by the Sultan, Muhammad wrote to the Sultan saying that he did not eloped with the Selangor's Princess. After that he wrote another letter saying that he is sorry that he eloped with the princess.^[5] They have since divorced and have a son together in July 1989, Muhammad Faez.^[6][7]

Senatorship

In 2006, he was appointed as a senator in the Dewan Negara. This allowed him to be appointed as a minister by Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in March 2008. His stint in the Cabinet ended after a reshuffling by new Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in April 2009.

Joining PAS

On April 2013, Mat Taib joined PAS, a component party of Pakatan Rakyat.^[8] He was formally introduced by the party on 22 April 2013 (Monday) two days after the 13th General Election nomination day to avoid allegations that he took the step to be nominated in the general election. PAS is the only party that can lead Malaysia towards Islam, Mat Taib said.^[9]

Ironically, in previous statements Muhammad was a strong critic for the current Pakatan Rakyat led state of Selangor. He stated that Pakatan Rakyat Selangor, under the helm of the current Mentri Besar of Selangor Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim was losing grip of the state. He even stated that he believes that Saiful Bukhari Azlan, the accuser of Anwar Ibrahim sexual escapades was the real victims and no one is helping Saiful Bukhari.^[10]

References

External links

• Official blog
• New ministers and deputy ministers, The Star, March 19, 2008.