Najwan Halimi

Najwan Halimi
Personal details
Born	(1985-05-08) 8 May 1985 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Political party	Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)
Alma mater	Universiti Tenaga Nasional
Website	www.najwanhalimi.com
Military service
Allegiance	Malaysia
Service/branch	Malaysian Army
Years of service	2015–current
Rank	Private
Unit	Rejimen Askar Wataniah

Najwan Halimi is a Malaysian politician and former special officer to former Opposition Leader of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim. Najwan is one of the defence witness called by the Malaysian High Court in Anwar Ibrahim's second sodomy trial.^[1] He is also the designer of the flag Sang Saka Malaya^[2][3] that became controversial during the 55th anniversary of Malaysia's independence in 2012.^[4] Currently he serves as the Deputy Director at Selangor State Sports Council.

Personal background

He grew up in Subang Jaya, Selangor. He received his secondary education at Sekolah Menengah Sains Hulu Selangor in Hulu Selangor and had his university education at Universiti Tenaga Nasional, graduated with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. He was actively involved in student activism during his campus days and was known as a skilled writer and an outspoken student leader.

After leaving university, Najwan joined the Malaysian Administrative and Diplomatic Service^[5] and served as Assistant Secretary at the Ministry of Transport. In November 2013, Najwan married Dayana Wahid. The couple have two sons.

In 2015, Najwan joined the Rejimen Askar Wataniah as a reservist after completing one month of training in June 2015.

Political career

In 2010, Najwan joined Parti Keadilan Rakyat and he was subsequently appointed as Deputy Information Chief for the party youth wing. During the 13th Malaysian general election, Najwan was seen actively campaigning for PKR advisor, Anwar Ibrahim for the parliamentary seat of Permatang Pauh, Penang. In 2014, Najwan was one of the candidates for Kelana Jaya Youth Chief in the PKR party elections.

Controversies

Sang Saka Malaya Flag

In 2012, a flag designed by Najwan in 2007 named Sang Saka Malaya was carried by supporters of Himpunan Janji Demokrasi with the red and white flag design together with the cresecent moon and a star with 11 vertices in the eve of Malaysia's independence celebration. The flag became the central point in the national flag controversy in 2012.^[6]

Anwar Ibrahim's Sodomy Trial

In 2011, Najwan was called by the Malaysian court as a witness for the Anwar Ibrahim sodomy trials due to his past relationship with Saiful Bukhari Azlan. According to him, Saiful Bukhari Azlan was his batch mate during his time at UNITEN and both were close with each other and shared the same interest in politics. Based on a report by Free Malaysia Today,^[7] Najwan testified that Saiful was an ardent supporter of Barisan Nasional and the government and had expressed his dislike towards Anwar Ibrahim and that he (Saiful) although has principles, craves attention and publicity. Najwan was shocked upon learning the admission of Saiful to Anwar's office, serving as his personal secretary. In an interview by BBC, Najwan had suggested that Saiful Bukhari was an implant in-order to sabotage the reputation of the former opposition leader.

Najwan attending Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trials in 2011

Career

Upon graduating, Najwan had a brief stint working as an administrator with a federal ministry before working with the then opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim. His secondment in the leader of the opposition's office lasted for four years. During his time working with the opposition leader, Najwan was among the staffs that organised and arranged Anwar Ibrahim's daily schedules and important appointments. In 2015, Najwan was appointed as the Deputy Director of Selangor State Sports Council (Majlis Sukan Negeri Selangor) in-charge of the youth delevelopment portfolio.^[8] He was instrumental in Selangor's participation in the 2016 SUKMA Games in Sarawak. At the end of the SUKMA games Selangor led the medal tally with 59 golds, 73 silvers and 64 bronzes.^[9]

References