Noh Omar

Noh Omar
نوح عمر
Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative
In office
11 September 2021 – 24 November 2022
MonarchAbdullah
Prime MinisterIsmail Sabri Yaakob
DeputyMuslimin Yahaya
Preceded byWan Junaidi
Succeeded byEwon Benedick
ConstituencyTanjong Karang
In office
18 March 2008 – 9 April 2009
MonarchMizan Zainal Abidin
Prime MinisterAbdullah Ahmad Badawi
DeputySaifuddin Abdullah
Preceded byMohamed Khaled Nordin
Succeeded byIsmail Sabri Yaakob as Minister of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism
ConstituencyTanjong Karang
Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government
In office
27 June 2016 – 9 May 2018
MonarchsAbdul Halim
Muhammad V
Prime MinisterNajib Razak
DeputyHalimah Mohamed Sadique
Preceded byAbdul Rahman Dahlan
Succeeded byZuraida Kamaruddin (Housing and Local Government)
Waytha Moorthy Ponnusamy (Social Wellbeing)
ConstituencyTanjong Karang
Minister for Agriculture and Agro-based Industry
In office
10 April 2009 – 15 May 2013
MonarchsMizan Zainal Abidin
Abdul Halim
Prime MinisterNajib Razak
DeputyRohani Abdul Karim (2009–2010)
Mohd Johari Baharum (2009–2013)
Chua Tee Yong (2010–2013)
Preceded byMustapa Mohamed
Succeeded byIsmail Sabri Yaakob
ConstituencyTanjong Karang
Deputy Minister of Education I
In office
14 February 2006 – 18 March 2008
Serving with Han Choon Kim
MonarchsSirajuddin
Mizan Zainal Abidin
Prime MinisterAbdullah Ahmad Badawi
MinisterHishammuddin Hussein
Preceded byMahadzir Mohd Khir
Succeeded byRazali Ismail
ConstituencyTanjong Karang
Deputy Minister of Internal Security
In office
27 March 2004 – 14 February 2006
Serving with Chia Kwang Chye
MonarchSirajuddin
Prime MinisterAbdullah Ahmad Badawi
MinisterAbdullah Ahmad Badawi
Preceded byZainal Abidin Zin as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs
Succeeded byMohd Johari Baharum
ConstituencyTanjong Karang
Parliamentary Secretary,
Prime Minister's Department
In office
15 December 1999 – 26 March 2004
MonarchsSalahuddin
Sirajuddin
Prime MinisterMahathir Mohamad
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
MinisterAbdul Hamid Othman (1999–2001)
Abdul Hamid Zainal Abidin (2001–2004)
Preceded byMuhammad Abdullah
Succeeded byMashitah Ibrahim
ConstituencyTanjong Karang
Chairman of the Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Berhad
In office
23 June 2020 – 1 September 2021
MinisterWan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar
Chief Executive OfficerIzwan Zainuddin
Preceded byHazimah Zainuddin
Succeeded byAhmad Nazlan Idris
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Tanjong Karang
In office
25 April 1995 – 19 November 2022
Preceded bySaidin Adam
(BNUMNO)
Succeeded byZulkafperi Hanafi
(PNBERSATU)
Majority15,818 (1995)
2,075 (1999)
9,008 (2004)
3,820 (2008)
4,394 (2013)
1,970 (2018)
Faction represented in Dewan Rakyat
1995–2022Barisan Nasional
Personal details
Born
Noh bin Omar

(1958-02-23) 23 February 1958 (age 65)
Sungai Burong, Tanjung Karang, Selangor, Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia)
Political partyUnited Malays National Organisation (UMNO)
(1995–2023)
Other political
affiliations
Barisan Nasional (BN)
(1995–2023)
Perikatan Nasional (PN) (since 2023)
Spouse(s)Aishah Salleh
Nooraisha Farizan
Children7
Alma materThames Valley University (LLB)
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionLawyer
Noh Omar on Facebook
Noh Omar on Parliament of Malaysia

Tan Sri Noh bin Haji Omar (Jawi: نوح بن عمر; born 23 February 1958) is a Malaysian politician who served as the Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative for second term in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob from September 2021 to the collapse of the BN administration in November 2022 and the first term in the BN administration under former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi from March 2008 to April 2009, Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government from June 2016 to the collapse of the BN administration in May 2018, Chairman of the Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Berhad (PUNB) from June 2020 to September 2021. He also served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tanjong Karang from April 1995 to November 2022. He was a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. He was also the State Chairman of BN and UMNO of Selangor.

Early life, education and early career

Noh was born on 23 February 1958 at Sungai Burong, Tanjung Karang, Selangor. He had his early education at Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Sungai Burong (1965), later Sekolah Menengah Aminuddin Baki (1977) and then Maktab Perguruan Temenggong Ibrahim. He continued his studies at Thames Valley University with a Bachelor of Laws.

He was a teacher in Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah in 1983 and went on to work as a legal officer at Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) in 1988 before starting his own law firm, Ahmad Famy & Noh.

Political career

Noh was appointed to the cabinet by Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi as Minister for Entrepreneur and Co-operative Development after the 2008 election. On 10 April 2009, he was appointed as Minister for Agriculture and Agro-based Industry by Abdullah's successor, Prime Minister Najib Razak. Noh was dropped from the cabinet after the 2013 election before being reappointed as Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government in 2016.

Despite Barisan Nasional's poor performance in the 2018 election, which saw the coalition suffer its first defeat in a general election, Noh managed to retain his parliamentary seat with a reduced majority.

He was appointed as Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob in 2021, remaining in the role until the 2022 election. Noh was among a number of high-profile United Malay National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of BN, members not selected to contest in the 2022 election. He later claimed that he was not invited to the party's seat negotiations. The election saw BN suffer its largest ever defeat, winning only 30 seats. The poor showing prompted Noh to resign as BN and UMNO Selangor state chairman and demand the resignation of party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, saying that he had lost faith in the latter's leadership.

Initially handed a six-year suspension by the party during a meeting of the party's supreme council, of which he was a member, Noh requested that he be dismissed from UMNO entirely instead, which party president Zahid agreed to. Noh claimed that the suspension did not follow party procedure, as his meeting with the disciplinary board had been scheduled to be held in three days. The disciplinary action undertaken by UMNO against Noh and various other party members have been described as a purge .

2023 Selangor state election

On 30 April 2023, Noh announced that he would be nominated by PN to contest in the 2023 Selangor state election. He also added that he would not just be a political spectator but would take part in political contests despite being sacked from UMNO. However on 18 June 2023, Noh decided not to contest in the state elections to pave way and give opportunities to the younger leaders. He would however campaign for PN to carry on his political struggle.

Controversies

In 2005, as Deputy Minister for Internal Security, Noh made international news for his role in the Squatgate controversy concerning the alleged mistreatment of an ethnic Chinese woman by Malaysian police. In response to the revelation of mistreatment and protests by the Chinese government, Noh stated "if foreigners think that Malaysia police are brutal, please go back to their own countries and not to stay here". Noh was reprimanded by Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, and Noh issued an apology for his comments that BBC News described as 'grudging at best'.

In 2012, Noh Omar was accused of conflict of interest and abusing his power as Minister for Agriculture and Agro-based Industry and member of parliament for Tanjong Karang for entering a joint-venture to run a prawn farm in 2011 on 30-acres of land, which he had allegedly bought for RM100,000 at below market price, with the certificate of ownership being issued by the Selangor Land Ownership Registrar in September 2009, five months after Noh was appointed to his current cabinet position. Under the joint-venture's agreement, Noh had given consent to Pristine Agrofood Sdn Bhd to operate the prawn farm on the land for 10 years for at least RM25,200 per year. Documents also showed that Noh inked a private caveat sought by Pristine Agrofood to not sell the land for 10 years.

Noh Omar was also questioned over the Programme of Peoples' Rice Subsidy Voucher or SUBUR (Malay: Baucer Subsidi Beras Untuk Rakyat), formed to manage the distribution of rice for needy peoples, introduced when he was the Minister for Agriculture and Agro-based Industry.

In 2016, as Malaysian Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government, he introduced a controversial initiative that would have enabled property developers to give out loans to buyers at an interest rate of 12 per cent with collateral and 18 per cent without collateral. Noh said that the move was intended to assist Malaysians who had been unable to get a full housing loan from banks or those who may only be given a partial housing loan. The proposal was lauded by the Malaysian Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) as it claimed that it helps developers who were finding it difficult to sell homes as more home buyers were being denied loans by banks. However, the proposal was met with fierce opposition, including from his fellow cabinet member, Second Finance Minister Johari Abdul Ghani who deemed the proposal "illogical and unsustainable", The Malaysian National House Buyers Association as well as CIMB chairman Datuk Seri Nazir Razak who labelled the idea "dangerous".

In the lead-up to the 2018 Malaysian general election, Noh was one of seven MPs from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition named on electoral watchdog Bersih's "Election Offenses Hall of Shame". He was criticised for misusing resources from the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government, which he is the minister of, to hold campaign events in Gombak. He was also recorded giving out cash while campaigning in the area, which was held by then Selangor chief minister Azmin Ali. Bersih, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to electoral reform referred to the act as "bribery" and "an attempt to unduly influence voters".

During a parliamentary seating in April 2019, he made a series of controversial remarks, stating that “Stealing is not wrong, only when you are arrested it becomes wrong. Riding a motorcycle without a helmet is not wrong; only when the police arrest you, it becomes wrong.” Noh Omar gave the analogy while trying to demand equal treatment for politicians entering schools, as principals who had allowed him to enter their premises had been warned by the State Education Department, as existing regulations necessitated that politicians receive clearance from the State Education Departments before any school visits. Noh claimed that this regulation was not enforced by previous Barisan Nasional governments, whilst RSN Rayer from the Democratic Action Party, a component of the then-ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition countered that its members of parliament were denied entry to visit schools by respective State Education Departments under previous Barisan Nasional governments when they were part of the opposition.

Personal life

Noh is married to Prof. Dr. Aishah Salleh and the couple has one daughter; Nurul Syazwani, who is currently the Member of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly for Permatang. In 2006, he married Nooraisha Farizan and the couple have 2 sons; Muhammad Nur Isyraff and one daughter.

Election results

Parliament of Malaysia
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
1995 P087 Tanjong Karang, Selangor Noh Omar (UMNO) 20,962 76.48% Nordin Abdul Latif (S46) 5,144 18.77% 27,410 15,818 66.59%
1999 Noh Omar (UMNO) 15,841 51.98% Md Yusoff Abd Wahab (PAS) 13,766 45.17% 30,478 2,075 72.37%
2004 P095 Tanjong Karang, Selangor Noh Omar (UMNO) 17,750 65.27% Abdul Ghani Samsudin (PAS) 8,742 32.14% 27,196 9,008 75.93%
2008 Noh Omar (UMNO) 16,073 55.32% Mohamed Hanipa Maidin (PAS) 12,253 42.18% 29,052 3,820 79.83%
2013 Noh Omar (UMNO) 20,548 54.40% Mohd Rashidi Deraman (PAS) 16,154 42.77% 37,768 4,394 89.22%
Masrun Tamsi @ Herman Tino (IND) 340 0.90%
2018 Noh Omar (UMNO) 17,596 43.45% Zulkafperi Hanapi (BERSATU) 15,626 38.58% 41,184 1,970 87.26%
Nor Az Azlan Ahmad (PAS) 7,276 17.97%

Honours

Honours of Malaysia


This page was last updated at 2023-12-27 19:56 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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