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Ku Abd Rahman Ku Ismail

Party
BERSATU · Malaysian United Indigenous Party
Coalition
PN
Constituency
Kubang Pasu
State
Kedah
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Why this matters to you

As MP for Kubang Pasu — one of Kedah's predominantly rural constituencies — Ku Abd Rahman's work on the Parliament Special Select Committee on International Relations and International Trade means he has a role in scrutinising trade and investment policies that affect the cost of goods and employment prospects for Malaysians (Source: parlimen.gov.my). His parliamentary questions on FELDA loans and FGV's post-delisting direction are directly relevant to settlers and smallholders dependent on the plantation sector (Source: nst.com.my). His support for mandatory secondary education legislation signals a position that could affect the schooling obligations of families and the availability of a more educated workforce (Source: freemalaysiatoday.com).

Summary

Dato' Wira Dr. Ku Abd Rahman bin Ku Ismail is the BERSATU Member of Parliament for Kubang Pasu, Kedah, serving since November 2022. A former UMNO state assemblyman and Kedah EXCO member, he crossed to BERSATU in December 2018 and won the Kubang Pasu federal seat in GE15 with a majority of 31,584 votes. He sits on Parliament's Special Select Committee on International Relations and International Trade and holds the International Trade and Industry portfolio in PN's shadow cabinet, while also being publicly identified with the Hamzah Zainudin faction in BERSATU's ongoing internal leadership dispute.

Biography

Dato' Wira Dr. Ku Abd Rahman bin Ku Ismail (born 23 September 1952, Kedah) is a Malaysian politician and member of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU), a component party of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition [1]. He has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kubang Pasu (P006) since November 2022 [2]. He holds a doctorate and received tertiary education at Loughborough University [3]. Ku Abd Rahman began his political career in the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), serving as the state assemblyman for Guar Chempedak, Kedah, from March 2008 [4]. He served as a member of the Kedah State Executive Council (EXCO) under the Barisan Nasional administrations of Menteris Besar Mukhriz Mahathir and Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah from May 2013 to May 2018, and then under the Perikatan Nasional administration of Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor from May 2020 to August 2023 [4]. On 12 November 2018, he resigned from UMNO to become an independent assemblyman before joining BERSATU on 6 December 2018 [5]. In GE15 (November 2022), he won the Kubang Pasu parliamentary seat under the PN banner with a majority of 31,584 votes [6]. He sits on the Parliament's Special Select Committee on International Relations and International Trade and holds the International Trade and Industry portfolio in PN's shadow cabinet [7].

Known for

Ku Abd Rahman is a long-serving Kedah politician who transitioned from UMNO to BERSATU in 2018, having held state executive council positions under both Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional governments [4]. He is active in parliamentary proceedings, raising questions on trade, education, and public investment issues. He has been publicly identified as aligned with the faction of former Bersatu deputy president Hamzah Zainudin within the party's internal leadership dispute [8].

Political positions

Ku Abd Rahman has consistently engaged with economic and investment policy issues in Parliament. As Kedah's Industry and Investment Committee chairman (during his EXCO tenure), he advocated for positioning Langkawi as a tourism investment hub [9]. In Parliament, he has questioned the government on terms imposed on FELDA for loans used to purchase FGV shares and FGV's direction following its delisting from Bursa Malaysia [10]. He has also raised questions regarding the National Data Repository and public sector digitalisation [10], as well as the ratio of STEM to non-STEM students in higher education institutions [11]. During the debate on mandatory secondary education, he argued that compulsory secondary schooling could break the cycle of poverty and strengthen critical thinking [8]. In June 2026, he was among 13 MPs who signed a statement calling for Bersatu to exit or be removed from the Perikatan Nasional coalition [11].

References

  1. [1]wikidata.org; sinarharian.com.my
  2. [2]en.wikipedia.org; parlimen.gov.my
  3. [3]wikidata.org
  4. [4]en.wikipedia.org
  5. [5]malaysiakini.com; nst.com.my
  6. [6]sinarharian.com.my
  7. [7]parlimen.gov.my; freemalaysiatoday.com
  8. [8]freemalaysiatoday.com
  9. [9]bernama.com
  10. [10]nst.com.my
  11. [11]thestar.com.my

Education

  1. Education: Loughborough UniversityAttended Loughborough University, United Kingdom (specific dates not publicly documented in available sources).⛓

Political career

  1. March 2008First elected as state assemblyman for Guar Chempedak, Kedah, under UMNO/Barisan Nasional.⛓
  2. May 2013Appointed as member of the Kedah State Executive Council (EXCO) under Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir's BN state administration.⛓
  3. May 2018BN state administration in Kedah collapsed following GE14; retained Guar Chempedak state seat under UMNO but moved to opposition.⛓
  4. 12 November 2018Resigned from UMNO to become an independent state assemblyman, citing questions about BN's direction and Kedah's development lag.⛓
  5. 6 December 2018Joined BERSATU (Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia), announced by then-Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir, helping PH-BERSATU secure more than half the seats in the Kedah state assembly.⛓
  6. May 2020Reappointed to Kedah EXCO under the new Perikatan Nasional state administration led by Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor.⛓
  7. 19 November 2022Won the Kubang Pasu parliamentary seat (P006) in GE15 under the Perikatan Nasional banner, with a majority of 31,584 votes.⛓
  8. August 2023Concluded service as Guar Chempedak state assemblyman and Kedah EXCO member upon expiry of the state assembly term.⛓
  9. November 2023Held a press conference at PN headquarters claiming he had been contacted via WhatsApp with an offer related to switching his support for PM Anwar, according to Malaysiakini.⛓
  10. November 2025Among Bersatu MPs who co-signed a letter to party president Muhyiddin Yassin expressing opposition to disciplinary action against Wan Saiful Wan Jan and Wan Ahmad Fayhsal, amid intra-party tensions.⛓
  11. June 2026One of 13 MPs who signed a joint statement calling for Bersatu to leave or be expelled from the Perikatan Nasional coalition.⛓

Election history

  • 2022Kubang Pasu (P006)Won⛓

Stance evolution

Public statements grouped chronologically. The party tag shows which party the politician was contesting under at that point.

  1. 2025BERSATU
    • Bayangkan kita hanya ada pendidikan wajib enam tahun, macam mana nak jadi negara maju?

      Said during the Dewan Rakyat debate on the Education Act amendment for mandatory secondary schooling, as reported by Free Malaysia Today. · Source

Perspectives on key issues

  • VerifiedFactsConfirmed as MP for Kubang Pasu (P006) representing Perikatan Nasional/BERSATU, listed on the official Parliament of Malaysia members page.⛓
  • VerifiedFactsConfirmed member of Parliament's Special Select Committee on International Relations and International Trade.⛓
  • OppositionFree Malaysia Today reported that Ku Abd Rahman oversees the international trade and industry portfolio in PN's shadow cabinet, with PN positioning itself as a check and balance on the government ahead of GE16.⛓
  • GovernmentThe Star reported that Ku Abd Rahman was among 13 MPs — current or former Bersatu members — who signed a statement calling for Bersatu to leave or be expelled from the Perikatan Nasional coalition, citing the party's alleged failure to uphold the spirit of coalition cooperation.⛓
  • PublicMalaysiakini reported that Ku Abd Rahman claimed he was contacted via WhatsApp with an offer — allegedly involving hotel projects — to switch his support to PM Anwar Ibrahim, a claim he made public at a press conference in November 2023.⛓

Sources

Every URL the AI used to draft this profile, for editor and reader verification.

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