Ab Rauf Yusoh’s journey from entrepreneur to politician culminates in his reappointment as Melaka Chief Minister for a second term
MELAKA: Datuk Seri Dr Ab Rauf Yusoh’s journey from the corporate sector to the political arena has seen him entrusted once again with leading the Melaka state administration, following his appointment as the state’s 13th Chief Minister for a second term.
Born on Sept 20, 1961, Ab Rauf hails from Masjid Tanah, Melaka. He graduated from the MARA Skills Institute (IKM) in 1978 before further expanding his knowledge in business by obtaining a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Gloucestershire, United Kingdom, in 2023.
Ab Rauf, 65, also pursued a postgraduate programme in Business Administration at the Kuala Lumpur International Education Consortium and obtained a Level 7 Postgraduate Diploma in the same field from the London Examinations Board in 2023.
More recently, he was awarded a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) through the APEL.Q pathway at the UKM Graduate School of Business, a programme he embarked on in 2024.
Before actively venturing into politics, Ab Rauf built his career as an entrepreneur and technocrat from the age of 24, with one of his early achievements being the establishment of Asia Lab Malaysia Sdn Bhd in 1985.
His corporate experience also included involvement in the information technology sector at Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) from 1993 to 1997. He also served on the boards of directors of Europlus Berhad and Talam Corporation Berhad between 1998 and 2007.
Ab Rauf’s involvement in UMNO began at the grassroots level, where he served as Dataran Merdeka UMNO branch chief from 1995 to 2013, before holding several positions, including assistant secretary of the UMNO Youth from 2003 to 2004 and UMNO Malaysia executive secretary from 2009 to 2018.
In 2013, he was appointed Masjid Tanah UMNO Division chief, a position he continues to hold, in addition to serving as Melaka UMNO and Barisan Nasional (BN) Liaison Committee chairman since 2018.
His experience in party leadership also paved the way for him to assume a greater role in state administration when he was appointed Melaka State Legislative Assembly Speaker for the 2020-2021 term.
In the 2021 Melaka State Election, Ab Rauf won the Tanjung Bidara state seat, defeating Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin and Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Zainal Hassan.
On March 31, 2023, Ab Rauf was sworn in as the 13th Melaka Chief Minister before Melaka Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Mohd Ali Rustam, succeeding Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali, who resigned after leading the state government for two terms.
In yesterday’s 16th Melaka State Election, Ab Rauf once again successfully retained the Tanjung Bidara seat with an 8,615-vote majority, defeating PH candidate Yunazri Mustamiri in a straight fight, while the BN-PN coalition secured a more than two-thirds majority to form the state government.
