Zahari Kechik

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

Zahari bin Kechik^[1] (born 1961) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Jeli since November 2022. He was a member of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU), a component party of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition. Currently, he is an independent politician since his BERSATU membership ended on 12 June 2024.^[2]

Yang Berhormat Tuan Zahari Kechik MP
ظهري كچيق‎
Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Jeli
Incumbent
Assumed office 19 November 2022
Preceded by	Mustapa Mohamed (BN–UMNO)
Majority	12,464 (2022)
Faction represented in Dewan Rakyat
2022–2024	Perikatan Nasional
2024–	Independent
Personal details
Born	Zahari bin Kechik 1961 (age 63–64)
Political party	United Malay National Organisation (UMNO) (until 2022) Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU) (2022–2024)
Other political affiliations	Barisan Nasional (BN) (until 2022) Perikatan Nasional (PN) (2022–2024)
Spouse(s)	Hayati Ismail Che Maziah Mustafa
Relations	Mohd Adhan Kechik (elder brother)
Alma mater	Universiti Teknologi MARA

Political career

Zahari Kechik had served as Political Secreatary to the Minister in Prime Minister's Department (Economy).^[3]

Support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim

On 8 November 2023, Zahari declared his support for the government and leadership of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. His support for Anwar and his government strengthened the two-thirds majority support in the Dewan Rakyat they commanded by increasing the MPs supporting his government from 150 to 151. He is the fourth opposition MP to do so after Kuala Kangsar MP Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid, Labuan MP Suhaili Abdul Rahman and Gua Musang MP Mohd Azizi Abu Naim. They were later joined by the Bukit Gantang and Tanjong Karang MPs, Syed Abu Hussin and Dr. Zulkafperi Hanapi.^[4]

Election results

Parliament of Malaysia^[5]

Year	Constituency	Candidate		Votes	Pct	Opponent(s)		Votes	Pct	Ballots cast	Majority	Turnout
2022	P030 Jeli		Zahari Kechik (BERSATU)	27,072	63.03%		Norwahida Patuan (UMNO)	14,608	34.01%	43,588	12,464	72.85%
							Md.Radzi Wahab (AMANAH)	1,140	2.65%
							Muhammad Daud (PUTRA)	133	0.31%

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

• Malaysia :
  • Recipient of the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong Installation Medal (2024)