Muhamad Arafat Varisai Mahamad

Summary

Muhamad Arafat Varisai Mahamad is a two-term PKR state assemblyman for Hulu Kinta (N24), Perak, first elected under Pakatan Harapan in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. He serves as PKR's State Spokesperson for Perak and has been active in state assembly debates on cost-of-living and consumer issues, as well as local infrastructure matters affecting his constituency. He holds a board-level appointment at Bursa-listed Handal Energy Bhd and at Perak Agro Aquaculture, as reported by The Edge Malaysia.

Biography

Muhamad Arafat bin Varisai Mahamad is a Malaysian politician who has served as Member of the Perak State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Hulu Kinta (N24) since May 2018, under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) banner of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) [1]. He is PKR's State Spokesperson for Perak and has served as Tambun Division Chief, though he lost the Tambun PKR branch chairmanship in the party's April 2025 elections to Shamsul Kamar Ani [2]. The Hulu Kinta state seat falls within the Tambun federal parliamentary constituency in the Ipoh area [2]. In GE14 (2018), he won Hulu Kinta with 35.6% of votes (17,766 votes), defeating an incumbent UMNO representative with a majority of 3,713 [3]. He was re-elected in GE15 (2022) with 29.9% of votes (22,220 votes) in a multi-cornered contest, securing a majority of 4,163 [3]. He was aged 39 as of August 2023 [4]. In August 2023, he was appointed independent and non-executive chairman of Bursa-listed Handal Energy Bhd, an offshore crane operator, and has also sat on the board of Perak Agro Aquaculture, a subsidiary of Perak Agriculture Development Corp [4]. Within the Perak State Assembly, he has been an active debater on cost-of-living and consumer issues, and in December 2024, he was referred to the Rights and Privilege Committee over alleged malicious and misleading accusations made during a sitting [2]. In July 2023, he won a defamation suit against former PKR leader R. Segar at the Ipoh High Court, with RM150,000 in damages awarded [5].

Known for

Muhamad Arafat is known for his vocal stance on cost-of-living issues in the Perak State Assembly, most notably when he brought a raw chicken into the chamber during the debate on the Supply Bill 2022 to protest rising poultry prices [6]. He serves as PKR's State Spokesperson for Perak and has been a prominent voice within the Pakatan Harapan state government on issues of party discipline and political integrity, publicly advocating for candidate bond conditions to deter party-hopping [7]. He has also raised allegations against political opponents on matters of constituency service and voter coercion [6].

Political positions

Muhamad Arafat has consistently raised consumer and cost-of-living concerns at the state assembly level, including publicly highlighting the rising price of chicken during the 2021 state budget debate [6]. He has been an advocate for party discipline within PKR, expressing support for enforcing candidate bond conditions to prevent elected representatives from defecting, citing the RM10 million judgment against Zuraida Kamaruddin as a positive precedent [7]. He has also taken positions on electoral integrity, with his office lodging a report and rallying Perak PH after remarks by UMNO's acting president were perceived as racially charged during the Rantau by-election campaign in 2019 [6]. On state politics, he has publicly claimed knowledge of opposition state assemblymen considering crossing the floor to support the Perak PH state government, while declining to name them [8].

Political career

1. May 2018First elected as Member of the Perak State Legislative Assembly for Hulu Kinta (N24) under Pakatan Harapan (PKR), defeating incumbent UMNO representative Aminuddin Md Hanafiah with 35.6% of votes and a majority of 3,713.⛓
2. November 2018Served as Perak PKR Information Chief (Ketua Penerangan PKR Perak), a role referenced in multiple news reports from 2021.⛓
3. December 2021Brought a raw chicken into the Perak State Assembly sitting during the debate on the Supply Bill 2022 to protest rising poultry prices; was subsequently reprimanded by the Speaker and ejected from the chamber on 16 December 2021 after refusing to comply with the Deputy Speaker's order.⛓
4. November 2022Re-elected as Hulu Kinta (N24) assemblyman in the 15th General Election (GE15) under Pakatan Harapan (PKR), obtaining 22,220 votes (29.9%) in a four-cornered contest with a majority of 4,163.⛓
5. May 2023Won a defamation suit against former PKR leader R. Segar at the Ipoh High Court, with the judge ordering Segar to pay RM150,000 in damages and to publish an apology and delete defamatory social media posts.⛓
6. August 2023Appointed independent and non-executive chairman of Bursa Malaysia-listed Handal Energy Bhd, an offshore crane operator, as disclosed in a bourse filing. Also disclosed to be a board member of Perak Agro Aquaculture, a subsidiary of Perak Agriculture Development Corp.⛓
7. December 2024Referred to the Perak State Assembly's Rights and Privilege Committee by Speaker Datuk Mohammad Zahir Abdul Khalid over alleged malicious and misleading accusations made during a sitting, following a motion tabled by a Perikatan Nasional assemblyman.⛓
8. April 2025Lost the Tambun PKR branch chairmanship to Shamsul Kamar Ani in the PKR branch-level election, obtaining 1,233 votes against Shamsul's 1,458. His team won the majority of other contested posts.⛓

Election history

• 2022Hulu Kinta (N24)Won29.9%⛓
• 2018Hulu Kinta (N24)Won35.6%⛓

Perspectives on key issues

• GovernmentAs PKR State Spokesperson for Perak and a member of the Pakatan Harapan state government coalition, Muhamad Arafat has publicly defended the government's legislative record and raised cost-of-living concerns in the state assembly on behalf of constituents.⛓
• OppositionPerikatan Nasional assemblymen tabled a motion referring Muhamad Arafat to the Perak State Assembly's Rights and Privilege Committee in December 2024, alleging that he had made malicious and misleading accusations in the chamber, including calling a fellow assemblyman a 'penjilat' (sycophant).⛓
• VerifiedFactsElection results from The Star confirm Muhamad Arafat won Hulu Kinta in both GE14 (2018, 35.6% vote share) and GE15 (2022, 29.9% vote share). The Edge Malaysia's bourse-filing-based report confirms his appointment as Handal Energy Bhd chairman in August 2023. Sinar Harian confirmed the finalised defamation judgment in his favour dated 22 May 2023.⛓
• PublicResidents of Hulu Kinta have approached Muhamad Arafat on long-standing infrastructure issues, including chronic flash flooding at Taman Kinding Permai, where he coordinated site visits with multiple government agencies including MBI, JKR, and JPS to develop short- and long-term drainage solutions.⛓

Business interests (publicly reported)

The Edge Malaysia reported in August 2023 that Muhamad Arafat was appointed independent and non-executive chairman of Bursa Malaysia-listed Handal Energy Bhd, an offshore crane operator, effective 28 August 2023 (Source: theedgemalaysia.com). The same bourse filing cited by The Edge also disclosed that he sits on the board of Perak Agro Aquaculture, a subsidiary of Perak Agriculture Development Corp (Source: theedgemalaysia.com). No subsequent news-reported resignation from the Handal Energy chairmanship has been found in the allowlist sources as of the time of this profile.

Notable legal history

Sinar Harian reported on 7 July 2023 and 10 July 2023 that Muhamad Arafat won a defamation suit against former PKR leader R. Segar at the Ipoh High Court. The ruling was made by Judge Bhupindar Singh Gurcharan Singh Preet on 22 May 2023. Under the sealed order, Segar was directed to pay Muhamad Arafat RM150,000 in damages and to publish an apology and delete all defamatory statements from social media (Source: sinarharian.com.my).