Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin
Datuk Seri Ir. Haji Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin (born 17 March 1957) is the former Menteri Besar (MB) of the Malaysian state of Perak, a post equivalent to a Chief Minister and Member of Malaysian Parliament for Bukit Gantang. Nizar is the secretary of the Perak's Branch Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS). Nizar was appointed as Menteri Besar on 17 March 2008 but was ousted in January 2009. Nizar heads the Pakatan Rakyat coalition in Perak which consists mainly of members mainly from the Democratic Action Party (DAP), the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and his own party, PAS. Nizar was the first MB from the Pakatan Rakyat coalition.
Appointed by the Crown Prince of Perak Raja Nazrin Shah over two other candidates, Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham and Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi, his appointment was shrouded in controversy, particularly because his party was the smallest party in Pakatan Rakyat and the state assembly. The controversy did not last, as very soon all the Pakatan Rakyat MLAs threw their support behind Nizar enabling him to be sworn in on 17 March 2008, his 51st birthday.
Nizar is an engineering graduate from Aston University in Birmingham, United Kingdom. He took over the chief minister post from Datuk Seri DiRaja Tajol Rosli Mohd. Ghazali of Barisan Nasional.
Read more about Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin: Appointment As Menteri Besar, Administration, 2009 Perak Constitutional Crisis, Personal Life, Election Results