Mohd Radzi Md Jidin · Politician profile · CERAP

Topics Politician AnalysisMohd Radzi Md Jidin

Why this matters to you

As the MP for Putrajaya — Malaysia's federal administrative capital — Radzi Jidin represents a constituency whose residents include a large proportion of civil servants and government-linked employees; his parliamentary work and opposition votes on budget and governance bills directly affect the policies that shape federal employment, public services, and government spending. His prior role as Education Minister means his positions on school examinations, teacher recruitment, and curriculum policy carry continued public weight in national education debates that touch every Malaysian family with school-going children. As BERSATU Vice-President and a senior PN opposition figure, his influence extends beyond Putrajaya to the broader direction of the federal opposition's legislative agenda.

Summary

Datuk Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin is the BERSATU Member of Parliament for Putrajaya and the party's Vice-President, currently serving in the federal opposition under Perikatan Nasional. A forensic accountant by training with academic credentials from Australian and Malaysian universities, he is best known for serving as Malaysia's Minister of Education from 2020 to 2022, during which he oversaw the abolition of the UPSR examination and managed school operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. He won the Putrajaya seat at GE15 in November 2022, defeating a four-term incumbent, and an election petition against him was struck out by the High Court in March 2023.

Biography

Datuk Dr Mohd Radzi bin Md Jidin (born 4 September 1977) is a Malaysian politician and forensic accountant representing the Putrajaya parliamentary constituency under the BERSATU banner within the Perikatan Nasional (PN) opposition coalition [1]. Born in Ketereh, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, to a former headmaster, he attended the Royal Military College for secondary education before earning a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) from La Trobe University, an MBA from Universiti Utara Malaysia, and a PhD in Auditing from the Australian National University [1]. Prior to politics, he lectured in forensic accounting at the University of Tasmania in Australia [1]. He was a member of UMNO before joining BERSATU [1]. He entered electoral politics in the 2018 general election (GE14), contesting the Ketereh parliamentary seat but finishing last with 6,799 votes [2]. He was appointed a Senator on 17 July 2018 and served as Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs under the Pakatan Harapan administration from July 2018 to February 2020 [1]. Following the Sheraton Move political transition, he was appointed Senior Minister (Education and Social Cluster) and Minister of Education, serving from March 2020 to November 2022 [1]. In the 2022 general election (GE15), he won the Putrajaya parliamentary seat under the PN ticket, defeating four-term incumbent Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor with a majority of 2,310 votes [3]. He serves as Vice-President of BERSATU since 2020 and was appointed Bersatu Melaka state chief in February 2026 [2].

Known for

Radzi Jidin is most associated with his tenure as Malaysia's Minister of Education (2020–2022), during which he oversaw major policy decisions including the permanent abolition of the UPSR and PT3 national examinations and the management of school operations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic [1][4]. He is also known as one of BERSATU's most senior elected officials, having served as the party's Vice-President and, as of February 2026, its Melaka state chief [2]. As the MP for Putrajaya — the seat of Malaysia's federal government administration — he is a prominent face of PN's parliamentary opposition bloc [3].

Political positions

As Education Minister (2020–2022), Radzi Jidin oversaw the abolition of the UPSR and PT3 public examinations, arguing that the change was designed to preserve children's potential rather than reduce them to examination results, and that it followed extensive nationwide stakeholder engagement [4]. He also publicly acknowledged that the Malaysian education system had been stagnant due to resistance to change, and called for education to be distanced from politics [2][4]. As Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs (2018–2020), he emphasised prudent public spending, the development of downstream industries, and targeted economic engagement with all Malaysian states as part of the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 framework [5]. In his current role as an opposition MP, he has been an active voice in Dewan Rakyat debates, including on governance and anti-corruption issues [5][6].

References

Education

Secondary schoolAttended the Royal Military College (RMC) for secondary education.⛓
UndergraduateObtained a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) from La Trobe University, Australia.⛓
MBAObtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM).⛓
PhDObtained a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Auditing from the Australian National University (ANU).⛓

Before politics

Pre-2018Worked as a lecturer in forensic accounting at the University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia, before entering Malaysian politics.⛓

Political career

May 2018Contested the Ketereh parliamentary seat (Kelantan) under BERSATU in GE14, finishing third with 6,799 votes behind UMNO's Annuar Musa and a PAS candidate.⛓
17 July 2018Appointed as a Senator, enabling his appointment as Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs under the Pakatan Harapan administration led by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.⛓
July 2018 – February 2020Served as Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs under Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali in the Pakatan Harapan government until the government's collapse in February 2020.⛓
March 2020Appointed Minister of Education (and Senior Minister for the Education and Social Cluster) under the Perikatan Nasional government following the Sheraton Move political transition.⛓
2020Became Vice-President of BERSATU.⛓
2020–2022As Education Minister, oversaw the cancellation of UPSR and PT3 examinations in 2020 due to COVID-19 and subsequently their permanent abolition in 2021, as well as management of school reopening policies throughout the pandemic.⛓
19 November 2022Won the Putrajaya parliamentary seat at GE15 under the PN ticket, defeating four-term incumbent Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor of BN with a majority of 2,310 votes (16,002 votes to 13,692).⛓
10 March 2023An election petition filed by Datuk Ahmad Faisal Abdul Karim seeking to nullify his GE15 victory was struck out by the Kuala Lumpur High Court, which ruled the petition was defective and ordered the petitioner to pay RM20,000 in costs.⛓
November 2023Appointed as BERSATU Federal Territories chief to replace Labuan MP Datuk Dr Suhaili Abdul Rahman.⛓
25 February 2026Appointed as BERSATU Melaka state chief by party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, following a major overhaul of the party's Melaka state leadership.⛓
18 June 2026Removed as Perikatan Nasional's election director and replaced with PAS election director Sanusi Nor, as part of a broader reshuffle of PN's top coalition leadership positions.⛓

Election history

2022PutrajayaWon⛓
2018KeterehLost⛓

Stance evolution

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

2024BERSATU
- Yes, the UPSR was abolished during my time (as the Education Minister) but it wasn't done on a whim.
  Radzi Jidin defending the abolition of the UPSR examination in his winding-up speech at the BERSATU annual general meeting, as reported by The Star. · Source
2023BERSATU
- I would like to stress that I have never asked nor received, either directly or through others, any form of bribery or kickbacks from any party ever.
  Radzi Jidin responding to allegations connecting him to an RM80 million J-Qaf book-printing project under MACC investigation, as reported by The Star. · Source
2022BERSATU
- This is not a Radzi Jidin syllabus. It takes time to develop an education syllabus and we take into consideration views from teachers and schools.
  Radzi Jidin responding to political controversy over the national school syllabus, clarifying that it predated his tenure as Education Minister, as reported by The Star. · Source
2019BERSATU
- The key idea is that when you have money, you need to use money wisely...to create more value for the country's economy, rather than accumulating more debt which does not create any value, but only burden the country's finances.
  Radzi Jidin, then Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs, speaking to reporters at the Affin Hwang Capital Forum 2019, as reported by The Edge Malaysia. · Source

Perspectives on key issues

VerifiedFactsRadzi Jidin won the Putrajaya parliamentary seat at GE15 on 19 November 2022 with 16,002 votes and a majority of 2,310, defeating four-term incumbent Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor of BN. A subsequent election petition against him was struck out by the High Court on 10 March 2023.⛓
GovernmentPrime Minister Anwar Ibrahim accused Radzi Jidin of corruption during a Dewan Rakyat sitting on 19 September 2023, a claim that Radzi disputed and which led to his ejection from the House by the Speaker after he refused to be seated.⛓
OppositionBERSATU's legal bureau accused the government of abusing enforcement agencies to 'hound' Radzi and other opposition figures, alleging the MACC's interest in the book-printing project coincided with his confrontation with the Prime Minister in Parliament.⛓
ExpertWikipedia notes that Radzi Jidin's efficacy as Education Minister has often been questioned since the Perikatan Nasional government takeover in 2020, reflecting ongoing public and academic debate about outcomes during his tenure.⛓
AffectedDuring his time as Education Minister, Radzi acknowledged that between 5% and 9% of a sample of 900,000 students owned a computer, laptop or tablet, highlighting the digital divide that affected students' ability to participate in home-based learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.⛓

Notable legal history

In January 2023, a voter filed an election petition seeking to nullify Radzi Jidin's GE15 victory in Putrajaya, alleging voter inducement. On 10 March 2023, the High Court struck out the petition, with Judge Datuk Faizah Jamaludin ruling that it was defective due to insufficient particulars of the alleged bribery and that the petitioner had failed to prove corrupt practice was committed by Radzi or his agent. The court ordered the petitioner to pay RM20,000 in costs to Radzi (Source: theedgemalaysia.com, malaymail.com).

Reviewed by editorHigh confidence