Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Dusuki is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Asyraf Wajdi. The word "bin" or "binti"/"binte" means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.

Yang Berbahagia Datuk Wira Dr. Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki DCSM DIMP
أشرف وجدي دسوقي‎
Asyraf Wajdi in 2019
Chairman of the Majlis Amanah Rakyat
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 March 2023
Minister	Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
Director-General	Azhar Abdul Manaf
Preceded by	Azizah Mohd Dun
Secretary-General of the United Malays National Organisation
Incumbent
Assumed office 22 March 2023
President	Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
Preceded by	Ahmad Maslan
14th Youth Chief of the United Malays National Organisation
In office 24 June 2018 – 11 March 2023
President	Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
Deputy	Shahril Sufian Hamdan
Preceded by	Khairy Jamaluddin
Succeeded by	Muhamad Akmal Saleh
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Islamic Affairs)
In office 29 July 2015 – 10 May 2018
Monarchs	Abdul Halim (2015–2016) Muhammad V (2016–2018)
Prime Minister	Najib Razak
Minister	Jamil Khir Baharom
Preceded by	Mashitah Ibrahim (2009–2013)
Succeeded by	Fuziah Salleh
Constituency	Senator
Senator Appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong
In office 26 May 2014 – 20 April 2018
Monarchs	Abdul Halim (2015–2016) Muhammad V (2016–2018)
Prime Minister	Najib Razak
Personal details
Born	Asyraf Wajdi bin Dusuki (1976-05-14) 14 May 1976 (age 48) Tumpat, Kelantan, Malaysia
Citizenship	Malaysian
Political party	United Malays National Organisation (UMNO)
Other political affiliations	Barisan Nasional (BN)
Spouse	Nurdianawati Irwani Abdullah
Residence(s)	Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Alma mater	International Islamic University Malaysia (BAcc) Loughborough University (MSc, PhD)
Website	http://www.asyrafwajdi.com
Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki on Facebook

Asyraf Wajdi bin Dusuki (Jawi: أشرف وجدي دسوقي, Malay pronunciation: [asyraf wajdi]; born 14 May 1976) is a Malaysian politician^[1][2] who has served as Chairman of the Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) since March 2023.^[3] He served as Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of Islamic Affairs in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Minister Najib Razak and former Minister Jamil Khir Baharom from July 2015 to the collapse of the BN administration in May 2018 as well as a Senator from May 2014 to his resignation in April 2018. He is a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of the BN coalition. He has also served as the Secretary-General of UMNO since March 2023 and also served as the 14th Youth Chief of UMNO from June 2018 to March 2023.^[4]

Early life and education

Born in the Tumpat District within the state of Kelantan, Asyraf is the third son of Dusuki Ahmad, who was once President of YADIM and former political secretary to Mahathir Mohamad and Nik Nooraini Nik Yahya (born 1947). He is married to Nurdianawati Irwani Abdullah, where they both met at International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) together, who is also an Islamic finance expert. Prior to entering IIUM, Asyraf was a student of Sekolah Menengah Agama Persekutuan Labu. In 2000, he graduated from IIUM with a bachelor's degree in accounting, and then furthered his studies at Loughborough University, where he obtain two postgraduate degrees with a Master of Science with Distinction (Islamic Economics, Banking and Finance), and Doctor of Philosophy (Islamic Banking and Finance).^[5]

Early career

Islamic banking and finance

Prior to taking political office, he served IIUM as a lecturer and then, an assistant professor of its Kulliyyah of Economics and Management Sciences. He also served the International Shariah Research Academy for Islamic Finance as Head of Research Affairs, and International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance as an associate professor.

Executive appointments

Before being a senator and deputy minister, Asyraf was appointed as the President of Islamic Da'wah Foundation of Malaysia (YADIM) on 3 June 2013 by Prime Minister Najib Razak.^[6] On 26 May 2015, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong admitted him to the Parliament as a senator,^[7] which paved the way for Najib to promote him as a Deputy Federal Minister in charge of Islamic affairs in July 2015. As such, he takes charge of YADIM, Islamic Economic Development Foundation of Malaysia (YaPEIM), Tabung Haji, TV Alhijrah, Institute of Islamic Understanding (IKIM) and Department of Waqf, Zakat and Hajj (JAWHAR).

Political career

Legislative and parliamentary candidacy

Asyraf has contested in three different Malaysian general elections at three different constituencies. Firstly in 2008 at his hometown of Tumpat, second at the coastal seat of Pasir Puteh in 2018, and most recently in 2022 at Gerik. Asyraf has lost all of the elections that he contested in.

UMNO and BN

Asyraf was elected as the Youth Chief of UMNO right after the party's defeat in the 14th Malaysian General Election where he defeated other notable party contenders such as former Senator and Vice Youth Chief Khairul Azwan Harun, and Paya Besar Member of Parliament Mohd Shahar Abdullah. Prior to GE14, he held the position of UMNO Supreme Council Member and Chairman of the Kelantan State UMNO Liaison Body Religious Bureau. Asyraf has also served as a Committee Member of the UMNO Malaysian NGO-GCOC Liaison Bureau and also the Advisory Panel of the An-Nur Squad of the UMNO Women's Movement. Asyraf is currently the Secretary-General of UMNO where he was directly appointed by the current President of UMNO, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Asyraf is known notably in UMNO as a Zahid loyalist as he has been given several government-linked and senior party level appointments despite consistently losing elections.

Controversies

Views on atheism

When a picture from a gathering of the Atheist Republic Consulate of Kuala Lumpur was posted on Atheist Republic's Facebook page in August 2017, Asyraf ordered an inquiry into whether anyone in the picture had apostatised from Islam or had 'spread atheism' to any Muslims present, both of which are illegal in Malaysia.^[8][9]

He has openly expressed his extreme views against Najib Razak, Asyraf stated that Najib was 'unconstitutional' and even suggested it is an offence under the Sedition Act. However, he reported that Facebook had rejected a joint government and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission demand to shut down Atheist Republic's page and similar atheist pages, because the pages did not violate any of the company's community standards.^[10]

Election results

Parliament of Malaysia^[11]

Year	Constituency	Candidate		Votes	Pct	Opponent(s)		Votes	Pct	Ballots cast	Majority	Turnout
2008	P019 Tumpat		Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki (UMNO)	27,337	41.89%		Kamarudin Jaffar (PAS)	36,714	56.26%	65,254	9,377	81.49%
2018	P028 Pasir Puteh		Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki (UMNO)	30,947	45.41%		Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh (PAS)	32,307	47.41%	68,150	1,360	81.66%
							Kamarudin Md Nor (BERSATU)	4,896	7.18%
2022	P054 Gerik		Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki (UMNO)	13,728	39.66%		Fathul Huzir Ayob (BERSATU)	15,105	43.64%	34,612	1,377	72.77%
							Ahmad Tarmizi Mohd Jam (DAP)	5,779	16.70%

Honours

•  Pahang :
  • Knight Companion of the Order of the Crown of Pahang (DIMP) – Dato' (2014)^[12][13]
•  Malacca :
  • Knight Commander of the Exalted Order of Malacca (DCSM) – Datuk Wira (2023)^[14]

References

1. Sebastian Strangio (8 July 2021). "UMNO Withdraws its support". The Diplomat. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
2. Hafiz Yatim (8 July 2021). "Homeland Fighters' Party Malaysia finally registered". The Edge (Malaysia). Retrieved 12 February 2021.
3. "Ex-Umno Youth chief Dr Asyraf appointed as Mara chairman, confirms Zahid". The Star. 12 March 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
4. "Asyraf Wajdi is new Umno sec-gen, Azalina appointed info chief". The Star. 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
5. "Profil". www.asyrafwajdi.com. Archived from the original on 17 January 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
6. "Dr. Asyraf Wajdi terajui Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia". Utusan Malaysia. 5 June 2013. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
7. "Ahli Parlimen". www.parlimen.gov.my. Parliament of Malaysia. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
8. Wouter van Cleef (7 August 2017). "In Maleisië geldt: gij zult geen atheïst zijn". Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 September 2017.
9. Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith (8 August 2017). "Malaysian atheist group under investigation over alleged Muslim apostate members". The Independent. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
10. "Atheism is unconstitutional, says Malaysian deputy minister". Today Online. Mediacorp. 23 November 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
11. "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2018. Results only available from the 2004 election.
12. "Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat". Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
13. "199 receive Pahang state awards". Bernama. The Malay Mail. 5 April 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
14. "AB Rauf heads Melaka honours list". New Straits Times. 24 August 2023.

External links

• Personal website
• Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki on Facebook
• Media related to Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki at Wikimedia Commons