Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
Coat of arms of Malaysia
Incumbent Dato' Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia I Dato Sri Haji Fadillah Yusof, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia II since 3 December 2022
Government of Malaysia
Style	The Most Honourable
Member of	Cabinet National Security Council House of Representatives
Reports to	Parliament
Residence	Sri Satria, Putrajaya
Seat	Perdana Putra, Putrajaya
Nominator	Prime Minister
Appointer	Yang di-Pertuan Agong
Term length	At the Prime Minister's pleasure
Inaugural holder	Abdul Razak Hussein
Formation	31 August 1957; 67 years ago (1957-08-31)
Salary	RM18,168.15 monthly

The Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia (called Timbalan Perdana Menteri Malaysia in Malay) is the second most important political job in Malaysia. This position was created in 1957 when Malaysia became independent. Since then, 15 people have held this important role. The first Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, started the tradition of choosing a Deputy Prime Minister. However, sometimes a Prime Minister might choose not to appoint anyone to this role.

How a Deputy Prime Minister is Chosen

Malaysia has had a Deputy Prime Minister since it gained independence. But the Prime Minister can decide whether to appoint one or not. The job of Deputy Prime Minister is not officially written in the constitution of Malaysia. A Prime Minister can even choose to have more than one Deputy Prime Minister, which has happened in places like Singapore.

For a long time, from August 1957 to May 2018, the Barisan Nasional (BN) government was in power. During this time, the deputy leader of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party was usually chosen as the Deputy Prime Minister. This was because UMNO was the main party in the BN coalition.

From May 2018 to February 2020, a different group called Pakatan Harapan (PH) was in charge. The leaders of PH decided who would be the Deputy Prime Minister. During this time, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail became the first woman to hold this position.

The position was empty for 16 months after Muhyiddin Yassin became Prime Minister in March 2020. Then, in July 2021, Ismail Sabri Yaakob was appointed. However, he served for only 40 days before he became Prime Minister himself. This made him the shortest-serving Deputy Prime Minister ever.

Since August 2021, the BN coalition has been the ruling group again. The Deputy Prime Minister role was empty for 13 months. Then, on December 3, 2022, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Fadillah Yusof were both appointed. They are the first pair of Deputy Prime Ministers in Malaysia's history.

Changes in Office

Out of the previous Deputy Prime Ministers, eight of them later became Prime Ministers. Some others left the job for different reasons.

One Deputy Prime Minister, Ismail Abdul Rahman, passed away while in office in 1973. Musa Hitam resigned in 1986 because he had disagreements with the Prime Minister about government plans. Ghafar Baba also resigned when his party members lost trust in his leadership.

Anwar Ibrahim was the first Deputy Prime Minister to be removed from office in 1998. Muhyiddin Yassin was the second to be removed in 2015 by the Prime Minister at the time, Najib Razak. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail's time as Deputy Prime Minister ended when the government she was part of changed in 2020.

List of Deputy Prime Ministers of Malaysia

Party Colors:       Alliance Party       Barisan Nasional       Pakatan Harapan       Gabungan Parti Sarawak

#	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death) Constituency	Time in Office			Other Jobs Held as Deputy Prime Minister	Political Party		Prime Minister
			Started	Ended	Length of Time
1		Tun Abdul Razak Hussein عبدالرزاق حسين‎ (1922–1976) MP for Pekan	31 August 1957	22 September 1970	13 years, 23 days	Minister of National and Rural Development (1957–1970) Minister of Defence (1957–1970) Minister of Home Affairs (1967–1969) Minister of Finance (1969–1970)		Alliance (UMNO)	Tunku Abdul Rahman
2		Tun Dr. Ismail Abdul Rahman إسماعيل عبدالرحمن‎ (1915–1973) MP for Johore Timor (1959–1973) (Died in office)	22 September 1970	2 August 1973	2 years, 315 days	Minister of Home Affairs (1969–1973) Minister of Trade and Industry (1973–1973)			Abdul Razak Hussein
3		Dato' Hussein Onn حسين عون‎ (1922–1990) MP for Johore Bahru Timor (1971–1974) MP for Sri Gading (1974–1981)	13 August 1973	15 January 1976	2 years, 156 days	Minister of Education (1970–1973) Minister of Trade and Industry (1973–1974) Minister of Finance (1974–1976)
								BN (UMNO)
4		Dato' Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad محاضير محمد‎ (b.1925) MP for Kubang Pasu	5 March 1976	16 July 1981	5 years, 134 days	Minister of Education (1976–1978) Minister of Trade and Industry (1978–1981)			Hussein Onn
5		Dato' Musa Hitam موسى هيتم‎ (b.1934) MP for Labis (1978–1982) MP for Panti (1982–1986)	18 July 1981	16 March 1986	4 years, 242 days	Minister of Home Affairs (1981–1986)			Mahathir Mohamad
6		Abdul Ghafar Baba عبدالغفار باب‎ (1925–2006) MP for Jasin	10 May 1986	15 October 1993	7 years, 159 days	Minister of National and Rural Development 1986–1990) Minister of Rural Development 1990–1993)
7		Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim أنور إبراهيم‎ (b. 1947) MP for Permatang Pauh	1 December 1993	2 September 1998	4 years, 276 days	Minister of Finance (1993–1998)
8		Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi عبدﷲ أحمد بدوي‎ (1939–2025) MP for Kepala Batas	8 January 1999	31 October 2003	4 years, 297 days	Minister of Home Affairs (1999–2003)
9		Dato' Sri Mohd. Najib Abdul Razak' محمد نجيب عبدالرزاق‎ (b. 1953) MP for Pekan	7 January 2004	3 April 2009	5 years, 87 days	Minister of Defence (2003–2008) Minister of Finance (2008–2009)			Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
10		Tan Sri Dato' Haji Muhyiddin Mohd. Yassin محيي الدين ياسين‎ (b.1947) MP for Pagoh	10 April 2009	29 July 2015	6 years, 111 days	Minister of Education (2009–2015)			Najib Razak
11		Dato' Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi أحمد زاهد حميدي‎ (b. 1953) MP for Bagan Datok	29 July 2015	9 May 2018	2 years, 285 days	Minister of Home Affairs (2013–2018)
12		Dato' Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail وان عزيزة وان إسماعيل‎ (b.1952) MP for Pandan	21 May 2018	24 February 2020	1 year, 280 days	Minister of Women, Family and Community Development (2018–2020)		PH (PKR)	Mahathir Mohamad
13		Dato' Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob إسماعيل صبري يعقوب‎ (b. 1960) MP for Bera	7 July 2021	16 August 2021	41 days	Minister of Defence (2021)		BN (UMNO)	Muhyiddin Yassin
14		Dato' Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi أحمد زاهد حميدي‎ (b.1953) MP for Bagan Datuk	3 December 2022	Incumbent	2 years, 241 days	Minister of Rural and Regional Development (since 2022)			Anwar Ibrahim
		Dato Sri Haji Fadillah Yusof فضيلة يوسف‎ (b. 1962) MP for Petra Jaya	3 December 2022	Incumbent		Minister of Plantation and Commodities (2022–2023) Minister of Energy Transition and Public Utilities (since 2023)		GPS (PBB)

Timeline of Deputy Prime Ministers