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 (Malay: Timbalan Perdana Menteri Malaysia) is the second most important political job in Malaysia. This position has existed since 1957. The first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, started the tradition of choosing a deputy. However, sometimes a Prime Minister might decide not to appoint anyone to this role.

How a Deputy Prime Minister is Chosen

Malaysia has almost always had a Deputy Prime Minister since it became independent. The country's constitution does not specifically say there must be a Deputy Prime Minister. A Prime Minister can choose to appoint one, or even more than one, as has happened in places like Singapore.

Past Ways of Choosing a Deputy

From 1957 to 2018, the Barisan Nasional (BN) government was in charge. During this time, the leader of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party was usually the Prime Minister. The deputy leader of UMNO would then typically become the Deputy Prime Minister. This was a common practice.

Later, from May 2018 to February 2020, a different group called Pakatan Harapan (PH) led the government. They decided who would be Deputy Prime Minister through their own council. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail became the first woman to hold this important job.

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

Since December 2022, Malaysia has had two Deputy Prime Ministers for the first time in its history: Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Fadillah Yusof.

Leaving the Deputy Prime Minister Role

Of the many people who have been Deputy Prime Minister, eight later became Prime Ministers. Others left the job for different reasons.

Reasons for Leaving Office

• One Deputy Prime Minister, Ismail Abdul Rahman, sadly passed away while in office in 1973.
• Musa Hitam resigned in 1986 because he had disagreements with the Prime Minister about government plans.
• Abdul Ghafar Baba resigned after losing support from his party members.
• Anwar Ibrahim was the first Deputy Prime Minister to be removed from office in 1998.
• Muhyiddin Yassin was also removed from his position 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

Colour key (for political parties):
      Alliance Party       Barisan Nasional       Pakatan Harapan       Gabungan Parti Sarawak

#	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death) Constituency	Term of office			Ministerial offices held as Deputy Prime Minister	Political party		Prime Minister
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
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 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 (b. 1939) MP for Kepala Batas	8 January 1999	31 October 2003	4 years, 297 days	Minister of Home Affairs (1999–2003)
9		Dato' Sri Haji 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 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	–		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, 198 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

See also

• Senior Minister of Malaysia
• Spouse of the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
• Official state car
• Air transports of heads of state and government