Salleh Said Keruak

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Md Said is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Md Salleh. The word "bin" or "binti"/"binte" means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.

Md Salleh bin Md Said (Jawi: محمد صالح بن محمد سعيد; born 10 July 1957), commonly known as Salleh Said Keruak, is a Malaysian politician who has served as Member of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly for Usukan from February 1994 to March 2004, from May 2013 to May 2018 and again since September 2020. He served as the Minister of Communications and Multimedia in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Minister Najib Razak from July 2015 to the collapse of the BN administration in May 2018, 9th Chief Minister of Sabah from December 1994 to May 1996, Speaker of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly from December 2010 to July 2015, Senator from July 2015 to July 2018 and Member of Parliament (MP) for Kota Belud from April 1995 to March 2008.

Yang Berhormat Datuk Seri Panglima Salleh Said Keruak SPDK DGSM JP MLA
صالح سعيد کرواق‎
Salleh Said Keruak at the ITU Telecom World 2016
Minister of Communications and Multimedia
In office 29 July 2015 – 10 May 2018
Monarchs	Abdul Halim (2015–2016) Muhammad V (2016–2018)
Prime Minister	Najib Razak
Deputy	Jailani Johari
Preceded by	Ahmad Shabery Cheek
Succeeded by	Gobind Singh Deo
Constituency	Senator
9th Chief Minister of Sabah
In office 28 December 1994 – 28 May 1996
Governor	Mohammad Said Keruak (1994) Sakaran Dandai (1994–1996)
Deputy	Yong Teck Lee
Preceded by	Sakaran Dandai
Succeeded by	Yong Teck Lee
Constituency	Usukan
Speaker of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly
In office 31 December 2010 – 28 July 2015
Governor	Ahmadshah Abdullah Juhar Mahiruddin
Chief Minister	Musa Aman
Preceded by	Juhar Mahiruddin
Succeeded by	Syed Abas Syed Ali
Constituency	Non-MLA (2010–2013) Usukan (2013–2018)
Senator Appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong
In office 29 July 2015 – 28 April 2018
Monarchs	Abdul Halim (2015–2016) Muhammad V (2016–2018)
Prime Minister	Najib Razak
Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Kota Belud
In office 25 April 1995 – 8 March 2008
Preceded by	Paul Maidom Pansai (PBS)
Succeeded by	Abdul Rahman Dahlan (BN–UMNO)
Majority	7,131 (1995) 9,216 (1999) 10,421 (2004)
Member of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly for Usukan
Incumbent
Assumed office 26 September 2020
Preceded by	Japlin Akim (BN–UMNO)
Majority	4,298 (2020)
In office 5 May 2013 – 9 May 2018
Preceded by	Japlin Akim (BN–UMNO)
Succeeded by	Japlin Akim (BN–UMNO)
Majority	6,812 (2013)
In office 19 February 1994 – 21 March 2004
Preceded by	Mustapha Harun (BN–UMNO)
Succeeded by	Japlin Akim (BN–UMNO)
Majority	2,683 (1994) 3,624 (1999)
Ministerial Roles (Sabah)
1994	Deputy Chief Minister
1994	Minister of Finance
2002–2004	Minister of Housing and Local Government
Faction represented in Dewan Negara
2015–2018	Barisan Nasional
Faction represented in Dewan Rakyat
1995–2008	Barisan Nasional
Faction represented in Sabah State Legislative Assembly
1994–2004	Barisan Nasional
2013–2018	Barisan Nasional
2020–	Barisan Nasional
Personal details
Born	Md Salleh bin Md Said (1957-07-10) 10 July 1957 (age 68)[N 1] Kota Belud, North Borneo (now Sabah, Malaysia)
Citizenship	Malaysia
Political party	United Sabah Party (PBS) (until 1991) United Malays National Organisation of Sabah (Sabah UMNO) (until 2018, since 2020) Independent (2018–2020) [N 2][N 3]
Other political affiliations	Barisan Nasional (BN) (until 2018, since 2020)
Spouse(s)	Raya Erom (born 21 April 1963, m. 1984)
Relations	Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis (Second cousin)
Children	Mohd Syarulnizam (born 1986) Syazeera (born 1988) Mohd Hafeez (born 1996) Syeera (born 2003)
Parent(s)	Mohammad Said Keruak (died 1995) Bandung Hasbollah (died 2016)
Residence(s)	Likas, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah (private) Kota Belud, Sabah (hometown)
Alma mater	Simon Fraser University Universiti Putra Malaysia
Profession	Politician
"Mensyukuri Rahmat Hidup dan Kesihatan Sempena Hari Jadi" (in Malay). Archived from the original on 17 September 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2012. "Sejarah Datuk Seri Panglima Salleh Tun Said Keruak" (in Malay). Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2012. Prior to 1991, he was a member of the PBS party.

Educational background

He Is a bachelor's graduate from Simon Fraser University in political science and holds a PhD in political science and government from Universiti Putra Malaysia.

Career

After finishing his further studies, he was designated as Kota Belud District Officer from 1984 to 1986 and later became a Political Secretary to the sitting Chief Minister's administration from 1986 to 1994.

In addition, he also held some positions in the Cabinet of Sabah. For many years, he served as the Minister of Finance, Minister of Local Government and Housing and Deputy Chief Minister.

On 28 December 1994, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad nominated him as the Chief Minister of the state. His tenure as the state's Chief Minister ended on 28 May 1996 and was succeeded by Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) President, Yong Teck Lee.

On 4 January 2010, then-Chief Minister, Musa Aman, appointed him as his government's Science and Technology Adviser with ministerial rank.^[1] He succeeded Tham Nyip Shen, a former Deputy Chief Minister for the ethnic Chinese quota who hailed from Keningau.

Later on 31 December of the same year, he was appointed the Speaker of the State Legislature.^[2] A day later, on the first day of 2011, he was appointed the Chairman of Malaysian National Film Development Corporation (FINAS)^[3] by the then-Federal Minister of Information, Communications and Culture, Dr. Rais Yatim.

Under the party of United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), he previously served Sabah state liaison committee deputy chairperson from 2006 to 2018, serving under the long-term chairmanship of then-Chief Minister, Musa Aman who was concurrently the state liaison committee chairperson from 2003 to 2018 (but now he currently serves as its elections machinery director since the crucial party elections in 2018).

In addition, he also presides over the United Sabah Bajau Organisation (USBO).

On 6 October 2019, he admitted that he submitted a party membership application to the People’s Justice Party (PKR) as the party is multiracial and it is in line with Salleh's political beliefs, especially focusing on the future of the Malaysian state in East Malaysia, Sabah.

On 30 June 2020, he canceled his application to join PKR in the aftermath of the 2020 political crisis.^[4] On 9 September 2020, Salleh rejoined UMNO.^[5]

Family

He is the son of Mohammad Said Keruak, the 7th Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sabah and the 4th Chief Minister of Sabah.

He is currently married to Datin Seri Panglima Datuk Raya Erom (born 21 April 1963), an ethnic Kadazandusun woman of Lotud descent from Tuaran, since 18 December 1984. Prior to their marriage, she was a Roman Catholic Christian before converting to Sunni Islam in order to marry Salleh. The couple are blessed with two sons and two daughters: Mohd Syarulnizam (born 1986), Syazeera (born 1988), Mohd Hafeez (born 1996) and Syeera (born 2002).

In addition, Salleh is also the second cousin of Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis, the incumbent Kota Belud MP.^[6]

Election results

Parliament of Malaysia^[7][8]

Year	Constituency	Candidate		Votes	Pct	Opponent(s)		Votes	Pct	Ballots cast	Majority	Turnout
1995	P148 Kota Belud		Salleh Said Keruak (UMNO)	17,368	62.92%		Herbert Timbun Lagadan (PBS)	10,237	37.08%	27,920	7,131	81.71%
1999			Salleh Said Keruak (UMNO)	7,817	62.16%		Saidil Simoi (PBS)	8,601	30.01%	28,931	9,216	77.55%
							Bandira Aling (PAS)	1,515	5.28%
							Paul Maidom Pansai (IND)	553	1.93%
							Mul Marif (IND)	179	0.62%
2004	P169 Kota Belud		Salleh Said Keruak (UMNO)	19,290	64.93%		James Baga (IND)	8,869	29.85%	30,794	10,421	75.20%
							Jaimin Giau (SETIA)	1,551	5.22%
2018			Salleh Said Keruak (UMNO)	19,167	41.58%		Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis (WARISAN)	23,429	50.82%	47,271	4,262	82.12%
							Miasin Mion (PHRS)	2,092	4.54%
							Laiman Ikin (PAS)	1,410	3.06%

Sabah State Legislative Assembly^[9][10][11]

Year	Constituency	Candidate		Votes	Pct	Opponent(s)		Votes	Pct	Ballots cast	Majority	Turnout
1994	N08 Usukan		Salleh Said Keruak (UMNO)	6,274	61.67%		Datu Badaruddin Datu Mustapha (PBS)	3,591	35.30%	10,277	2,683	82.53%
							Semat Abdul Karim (SETIA)	159	1.56%
							Salisi Ukoh (IND)	150	1.47%
1999			Salleh Said Keruak (UMNO)	7,127	61.84%		Saidil Simoy (PBS)	3,503	30.40%	11,652	3,624	80.21%
							Mudry Nasir (BERSEKUTU)	894	7.76%
2013	N08 Usukan		Salleh Said Keruak (UMNO)	10,879	70.85%		Mustapha Sakmud (PKR)	4,067	27.24%	15,603	6,812	83.40%
							Bakhruddin Ismail (STAR)	285	1.91%
2020	N10 Usukan		Salleh Said Keruak (UMNO)	8,280	65.28%		Abdul Bakhrin Mohd Yusof (WARISAN)	3,982	31.40%	12,683	4,298	75.12%
							Datu Mohd Nazaruddin Datu Tiga Belas (PCS)	421	3.32%

Honours

• Sabah :
  • Grand Commander of the Order of Kinabalu (SPDK) – Datuk Seri Panglima (1996)
  • Commander of the Order of Kinabalu (PGDK) – Datuk (1990)
  • Justice of the Peace (JP) (2014)
• Malacca :
  • Grand Commander of the Exalted Order of Malacca (DGSM) – Datuk Seri (1996)

See also

• Members of the Dewan Negara, 13th Malaysian Parliament
• List of people who have served in both Houses of the Malaysian Parliament