Zahrain Mohamed Hashim

Zahrain bin Mohamed Hashim (born 12 November 1953) is a Malaysian politician previously from the People's Justice Party (PKR), a component party of then Pakatan Rakyat (PR) opposition coalition who served as the 16th Ambassador of Malaysia to Indonesia from September 2013 to June 2018 and Member of Parliament (MP) for Bayan Baru from March 2008 to May 2013. He is now an independent after leaving PR and PKR.

Yang Berbahagia Dato' Seri Zahrain Mohamed Hashim DGPN DSPN
ظاهرين محمد هاشم‎
16th Ambassador of Malaysia to Indonesia
In office 5 September 2013 – 30 June 2018
Monarchs	Abdul Halim (2013–2016) Muhammad V (2016–2018)
Prime Minister	Najib Razak (2013–2018) Mahathir Mohamad (2018)
Preceded by	Syed Munshe Afdzaruddin Syed Hassan
Succeeded by	Zainal Abidin Bakar
Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Bayan Baru
In office 8 March 2008 – 5 May 2013
Preceded by	Wong Kam Hoong (BN–MCA)
Succeeded by	Sim Tze Tzin (PR–PKR)
Majority	11,029 (2008)
Personal details
Born	(1953-11-12) 12 November 1953 (age 71)[1] Penang, Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia)
Political party	People's Justice Party (PKR) (–2010) Independent (since 2010)
Occupation	Politician

Political career

Zahrain was elected to Parliament in the 2008 election as a member of the opposition People's Justice Party (PKR).^[2] As Chairman of the Penang division of PKR, he had been criticised by his Pakatan Rakyat coalition partner, the Democratic Action Party, for speaking out against Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.^[3] In January 2010, he attacked Lim as being a "dictator, a chauvinist and communist-minded", citing what Zahrain saw as a failure by Lim to deliver on his election promises.^[4] He subsequently left PKR to sit in Parliament as an independent.

Diplomatic career

After leaving Parliament following the 2013 general elections, Zahrain was appointed as the Malaysia Ambassador to Indonesia.^[5]

Zahrain was recalled from his posting following the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government's decision to stop the previous practice adopted by the Barisan Nasional (BN) of appointing politicians to head overseas missions.^[6][7]

Election results

Parliament of Malaysia^[8][9][10]

Year	Constituency	Candidate		Votes	Pct	Opponent(s)		Votes	Pct	Ballots Cast	Majority	Turnout
2008	P052 Bayan Baru		Zahrain Mohamed Hashim (PKR)	27,618	62.47%		Ooi Siew Kim (MCA)	16,589	37.53%	46,418	11,029	76.45%

Honours

•  Penang :
  • Commander of the Order of the Defender of State (DGPN) – Dato' Seri (2009)^[11]
  • Officer of the Order of the Defender of State (DSPN) – Dato' (1995)^[11]

See also

• Bayan Baru (federal constituency)