Zairil Khir Johari

Yang Berhormat Tuan
Zairil Khir Johari
MP
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Bukit Bendera, Penang
Incumbent
Assumed office
6 May 2013
Preceded by Liew Chin Tong
Assistant Publicity Secretary Democratic Action Party[1]
Incumbent
Assumed office
September 2013
Executive Director of Penang Institute
Incumbent
Assumed office
March 2014
Preceded by Woo Wing Thye
CEO of Penang Institute
In office
March 2012 – March 2014
Succeeded by Lim Kim-Hwa
Personal details
Born 17 October 1982
Nationality Malaysian
Political party DAP – Pakatan Rakyat
Relations step son of Khir Johari
Children 2
Alma mater University of London
Multimedia University
Occupation Politician
CEO, Penang Institute
Religion Islam
Website zairil.com

Zairil Khir Johari is a Malaysian politician. Since 2013 he has been the Member of Parliament for the seat of Bukit Bendera, Penang. He is a member of the opposition Democratic Action Party. He is the son of Khir Johari, a former Cabinet minister.

Early life, education and career

Zairil is the step son of Khir Johari, a senior minister in early Malaysian governments and Member of Parliament from 1955 to 1982.

Zairil attended the Multimedia University in Cyberjaya, graduating with a Bachelors Degree in Information Systems Engineering. He then received a Master of Arts from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Upon his return to Malaysia, Zairil started RND Chocolate Labs, where he was the chief executive officer.

In late 2010, he left business to pursue politics full-time.

Political career

Entry into politics

In 2010, Zairil joined the DAP, a leading party in opposition to the UMNO-led national government. The choice—given that his father was a prominent UMNO politician and that he would be a rare Malay member of the DAP—attracted significant attention. Zairil claimed upon joining the DAP that UMNO had changed for the worse since his father was a politician, and that "after more than 50 years of [UMNO] rule, the situation is such that people are being colonised, oppressed by our own people, we do not have any freedom."[2] He was appointed Political Secretary to DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng on 23 February 2011.

At the DAP National Congress in December 2012, Zairil was elected to the Central Executive Committee (CEC) and appointed as the Assistant National Publicity Secretary. The election was re-run in 2013, after a tabulation error that had resulted in his exclusion. He was successful the second time around.[3]

Penang Institute

As the CEO of the Penang Institute, a well-known public policy think tank to the State Government of Penang, Zairil has been in the forefront of co-ordinating most of its major activities in propagating the cause of Penang on the national and international arenas, and providing realistic solutions for the economic and social sustenance of the people of the Penang region[4]

Formerly known as Socio-Economic and Environmental Research Institute (SERI), the Institute is an independent, non-profit research institute with a focus on facilitating sustainable, continuous and balanced development for the state of Penang. Over time, the Institute has established itself as one of Malaysia’s leading independent think tank, regularly consulted by the government, local and international NGOs on a diverse range of issues from education and sustainability to economics and human resource issues. The Penang Institute has several activities to its name.

It recently held a series of roundtable conferences on decentralisation of governance in the context of Malaysia. This series of roundtables was an attempt to understand the "why" and "how" of decentralisation. The series explored various approaches in adopting and implementing decentralisation, from a historical perspective and its implication to Malaysia today.

The Institute also regularly hosts the Penang in Asia lecture series, a lectureship awarded under the patronage of His Excellency the Governor of Penang, that brings together renowned scholars, public intellectuals and thinkers from diverse fields to Penang to speak about issues relevant to cultural, intellectual and economic development of Penang as an historical and future growth centre in Asia.

Those who have delivered lectures as part of the Penang in Asia lecture series include Nobel Laureate Professor Sir James Alexander Mirrlees, contemporary Islamic intellectual Professor Tariq Ramadan, and the world-renowned economist and sustainable development champion Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs.[5]

Under Zairil’s leadership, the Institute also started the ASEAN Coalition for Clean Governance (ACCG).[6] The inaugural conference was held in June 2012, attracting participants from seven countries around the region. The conference featured various leaders including former Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, former head of the Indonesian Audit Board Dr Anwar Nasution and chairperson of Malaysian electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0 Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasen.

In December 2012, the second ACCG Leaders' Lecture was held, featuring former Indonesian President Dr Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie. Habibie, who was president between 1998 and 1999 immediately following the fall of Suharto, is widely credited as having played a pivotal role in engineering the birth of democracy in Indonesia.

In March 2014, Zairil was promoted to the post of Executive Director , filling the post left vacant following Prof Dato' Woo Wing Thye's appointment as President of the Jeffrey Cheah Institute for Southeast Asian Studies.

Member of Parliament for Bukit Bendera

During the 13th General Elections of Malaysia, Zairil won the Bukit Bendera parliamentary seat polling 45,591 votes defeating Barisan National candidate with 32,778 majority. One of the highest majorities won during the elections. He is also one of the youngest candidates to win a Parliamentary seat during the elections.[7]

Parliament of Malaysia: P48 Bukit Bendera, Penang[8]
Year Opposition Votes Pct Government Votes Pct Ballots cast Turnout
2013 Zairil Khir Johari (DAP) 45591 78.06% Teh Leong Meng (Gerakan) 12813 21.94%

Family life and hobbies

Zairil is married and has one daughter and one son.[9]

References

External links

See also