Mohd Ali Rustam
Malaysian politician
Mohd. Ali bin Mohd. Rustam (Jawi: محمد علي بن محمد رستم; born 24 August 1949) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the 7th Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Malacca since June 2020. He served as the 9th Chief Minister of Malacca from December 1999 to May 2013, Deputy Minister of Health from November 1996 to December 1999, Deputy Minister of Transport from May 1995 to November 1996, Member of Parliament (MP) for Batu Berendam from April 1995 to November 1999, Member of the Malacca State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Bukit Batu from March 2004 to May 2013, for Paya Rumput from November 1999 to March 2004, for Sungai Udang from October 1990 to April 1995 and for Ayer Molek from August 1986 to October 1990. He was a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.
01Early life and education
Mohd Ali was born in Kampung Bukit Katil, Malacca on 24 August 1949. He got his first education at Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Katil and Sekolah Kebangsaan Semabok and continued his secondary education at Malacca High School. He got his tertiary education with Bachelor of Social Science at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).
He was awarded a Doctorate in History and Archeology from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Malaya for his research completion on "The Government's Role in Empowering Leadership and Socioeconomics of Youth in Malaysia, 1963-2013." Mohd Ali received his doctorate from UM Chancellor, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, on the first day of the university's 63rd Convocation ceremony.
02Political career
Mohd Ali joined UMNO in 1968 and became its vice-president from 2004 to 2009. He has been an elected representative in Malacca since 1986 and became Chief Minister on 3 December 1999 for fourteen years.
He was a member of the Dewan Rakyat for Batu Berendam from 1995 to 1999 and tried to contest in Bukit Katil (later Hang Tuah Jaya) in 2013 and 2018 general elections but lost both to Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin from People's Justice Party.
Mohd Ali is also president of the Malaysian Silat Federation (PESAKA), Malaysian Karate Federation and of Dunia Melayu Dunia Islam.
Chief Minister of Malacca (1999-2013)
Malacca became a fully developed state in 2010 under the leadership of Mohd Ali. This news came after Malacca fulfilled 32 indicators of development specified by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Other contributions done by Mohd Ali include Melaka River Cruise, Melaka Straits Mosque and Taming Sari Tower.
Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Malacca (since 2020)
Mohd Ali entered the office of the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Malacca on 5 June 2020 replacing Mohd Khalil Yaakob who ended his sixteen-year tenure as the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Malacca and was reappointed for second term on 28 May 2024. He is the first native Malaccan to hold the highest post.
03Election results
| Year | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Pct | Opponent(s) | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | N09 Ayer Molek | Mohd Ali Rustam (UMNO) | 9,484 | 76.28% | Husin Kassim (PAS) | 2,415 | 19.42% | 12,433 | 7,069 | 75.38% | ||
| 1990 | N12 Sungai Udang | Mohd Ali Rustam (UMNO) | 12,073 | 68.84% | Ahmad Nordin Mohd Amin (S46) | 5,465 | 31.16% | 18,659 | 6,608 | 77.68% | ||
| 1999 | N12 Paya Rumput | Mohd Ali Rustam (UMNO) | 8,632 | 58.31% | Loo Ah Boo (DAP) | 5,756 | 38.88% | 14,803 | 2,876 | 78.53% | ||
| 2004 | N17 Bukit Baru | Mohd Ali Rustam (UMNO) | 8,258 | 76.69% | Bakrin Sidek (PAS) | 2,266 | 21.04% | 10,768 | 5,992 | 79.71% | ||
| 2008 | Mohd Ali Rustam (UMNO) | 7,644 | 59.51% | Bakrin Sidek (PAS) | 4,936 | 38.43% | 12,845 | 2,708 | 80.77% | |||
| Year | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Pct | Opponent(s) | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | P122 Batu Berendam | Mohd Ali Rustam (UMNO) | 37,846 | 62.19% | Tan Seng Seng (DAP) | 15,671 | 25.75% | 62,528 | 22,175 | 78.30% | ||
| Mohd. Nor Jaafar (PAS) | 7,335 | 12.05% | ||||||||||
| 2013 | P137 Bukit Katil | Mohd Ali Rustam (UMNO) | 40,720 | 46.70% | Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin (PKR) | 46,167 | 53.30% | 88,271 | 5,733 | 88.77% | ||
| 2018 | P137 Hang Tuah Jaya | Mohd Ali Rustam (UMNO) | 30,427 | 39.73% | Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin (PKR) | 39,067 | 51.01% | 76,583 | 8,640 | 86.72% | ||
| Md Khalid Kassim (PAS) | 7,089 | 9.26% | ||||||||||
04Honours
Honours of Malaysia
- Malaysia
- Grand Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (SMN), Tun (2020)
- Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM), Tan Sri (2014)
- Malacca
- Founding Grand Master and Grand Principal of the Premier and Faithful Exalted Order of Malacca (SPSM), Seri Setia (2020)
- Grand Principal of the Premier and Exalted Order of Malacca (DUNM), Datuk Seri Utama (2020)
- Grand Commander of the Exalted Order of Malacca (DGSM), Datuk Seri (2001)
- Commander of the Exalted Order of Malacca (DCSM), Datuk Wira (1995)
- Companion of the Exalted Order of Malacca (DMSM), Datuk (1989)
- Member of the Exalted Order of Malacca (DSM)
- Recipient of the Community Service Medal (PBM) (1982)
- Sabah
- Grand Commander of the Order of Kinabalu (SPDK), Datuk Seri Panglima (2005)
- Federal Territory (Malaysia) :
- Grand Principal of the Order of the Territorial Crown (SUMW), Datuk Seri Utama (2021)
- Penang
- Grand Principal of the Order of the Defender of State (DUPN), Dato' Seri Utama (2021)
- Perlis
- Recipient of Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail Silver Jubilee Medal (2025)
Honorary degrees
- Malaysia
- Honorary Ph.D. degree from Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (2003)
- Honorary Ph.D. degree in Management from Multimedia University (2011)
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Mohd Ali Rustam”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Governor of Malacca Mohd Ali Rustam in 2026 (cropped).jpg by U.S. Embassy Kuala Lumpur, Public domain
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