Razman Zakaria

Summary

Razman bin Zakaria is the PAS Member of the Perak State Legislative Assembly for Gunong Semanggol, first elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. He served as a Perak State EXCO under two administrations (2020–2022) and as Perak State Leader of the Opposition from December 2022, while also serving as Perak PAS Commissioner from 2013 until stepping down in September 2025. He was suspended from the state assembly for six months from April 2025 following a Rights and Privileges Committee finding over remarks made at the December 2024 assembly sitting, returning in November 2025.

Biography

Razman bin Zakaria (born 16 February 1960, Perak) is a Malaysian politician and member of the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), a component of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition. He has served as the Member of the Perak State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Gunong Semanggol since May 2018, having won the seat in both the 14th General Election (2018) and the 15th General Election (2022) [1]. He served as Perak State Executive Councillor (EXCO) under Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu from March 2020, holding the Education, Human Capital Development, NGO and Civil Society portfolio [2]. Following the fall of the PN Perak administration, he was retained as EXCO under Menteri Besar Saarani Mohamad from December 2020 to November 2022, where his portfolio shifted to Plantation, Agriculture and Food Security [3]. After Pakatan Harapan returned to power in Perak in November 2022, Razman was appointed Perak State Leader of the Opposition by PN in December 2022 [4]. He served concurrently as Perak PAS State Commissioner from 2013, a role he stepped down from in September 2025 after 12 years, with Bagan Serai MP Datuk Seri Idris Ahmad appointed as his successor [5]. In April 2025, Razman was suspended from the Perak State Assembly for six months following a motion upheld by the Rights and Privileges Committee over remarks he made at the December 2, 2024 sitting [6]. His suspension concluded and he returned to the assembly on 25 November 2025 [5].

Known for

Razman Zakaria is known as a long-serving PAS figure in Perak who held state executive council portfolios under two successive Perikatan Nasional and Barisan Nasional-led state administrations between 2020 and 2022. He served as Perak PAS Commissioner for 12 years from 2013 to 2025, overseeing the party through multiple general elections and coalition realignments [5]. He became the Perak State Leader of the Opposition in December 2022 following PN's transition to the opposition benches [4].

Political positions

Razman has consistently represented PAS's Islamist and conservative political positions in Perak. During his tenure as EXCO, he chaired portfolios relating to education, human capital development, and later plantation, agriculture and food security at the state level [7]. As Perak PAS Commissioner, he vocally opposed the Pakatan Harapan federal government and its associated figures on various religious and social issues. Malaysiakini reported that in March 2023, he accused Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of pressuring enforcement agencies and called for a focus on the economy rather than what he described as 'revenge politics' [8]. He also publicly challenged non-Muslim political parties over the issue of alcohol policy, urging them not to use it as a political instrument [8].

Political career

1. 2013Appointed as Perak PAS State Commissioner, a role he would hold for 12 years.⛓
2. May 2018Won the Gunong Semanggol state seat in the 14th General Election (GE14) under PAS, contesting as part of Gagasan Sejahtera, with 36.3% of votes and a majority of 1,903.⛓
3. March 2020Appointed as Perak State Executive Councillor (EXCO) under Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu following the formation of the Perikatan Nasional state government, holding the Education, Human Capital Development, NGO and Civil Society portfolio.⛓
4. December 2020Retained as Perak EXCO under new Menteri Besar Saarani Mohamad, with his portfolio reassigned to Plantation, Agriculture and Food Security.⛓
5. November 2022Left EXCO position following the 2022 Perak state election, in which Pakatan Harapan returned to power in Perak.⛓
6. November 2022Won the Gunong Semanggol state seat in the 15th General Election (GE15) under PN-PAS, with 46.8% of votes and a majority of 7,466.⛓
7. December 2022Appointed by the Perikatan Nasional leadership council as Perak State Leader of the Opposition.⛓
8. 16 April 2025Suspended from the Perak State Assembly for six months, effective immediately, following a majority vote upholding the Rights and Privileges Committee's findings over remarks made during the December 2, 2024 sitting.⛓
9. September 2025Stepped down as Perak PAS Commissioner after 12 years. Bagan Serai MP Datuk Seri Idris Ahmad was appointed as his successor. Razman was subsequently appointed to the PAS central committee.⛓
10. 25 November 2025Returned to the Perak State Assembly after his six-month suspension lapsed, welcomed back by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad at the start of the November sitting.⛓

Election history

• 2022Gunong SemanggolWon46.8%⛓
• 2018Gunong SemanggolWon36.3%⛓

Perspectives on key issues

• GovernmentPerak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad welcomed Razman back to the state assembly at the November 2025 sitting after the six-month suspension lapsed, acknowledging his return to duties as Opposition Leader.⛓
• OppositionDAP Bercham assemblyman Ong Boon Piow tabled the motion that led to Razman's six-month suspension, accusing him of making slanderous and racially charged remarks during the December 2024 assembly sitting. The motion was seconded by Umno's Rungkup assemblyman Datuk Shahrul Zaman Yahya and endorsed by the majority of the State Assembly.⛓
• VerifiedFactsThe Court of Appeal unanimously upheld RM200,000 in defamation damages in favour of Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin against Razman on 13 November 2019, finding no merits in Razman's appeal. A separate Court of Appeal ruling on 6 September 2023 affirmed a High Court order requiring Razman to pay RM250,000 in damages and make a public apology to Lim Guan Eng. Both cases are finalised.⛓
• PublicFMT reported that Razman had been removed as Perak PAS chief, noting he had courted controversy over the last few years over allegations that he later apologised for and retracted.⛓

Notable legal history

In 2016, former Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin filed a RM3 million defamation suit against Razman over a statement published in a Malay-language newspaper on June 2, 2015. The Ipoh Sessions Court ordered Razman to pay RM200,000 in damages. The decision was upheld by the Ipoh High Court, and on November 13, 2019, the Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed Razman's appeal, with the bench finding no merits in his appeal and no appealable error in the High Court's decision (Source: malaysiakini.com; nst.com.my). Nizar subsequently initiated bankruptcy proceedings after Razman failed to pay by the stipulated date of January 29, 2020 (Source: theedgemalaysia.com; malaysiakini.com). In a separate matter, DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng filed a defamation suit against Razman over a November 18, 2017 Facebook post. The High Court ordered Razman to pay RM250,000 in damages and make a public apology. On September 6, 2023, the Court of Appeal affirmed the High Court ruling, dismissing Razman's appeal and awarding an additional RM20,000 in costs to Lim (Source: malaymail.com; freemalaysiatoday.com; nst.com.my). In February 2023, a defamation suit filed by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in December 2022 over a speech Razman made during the GE15 campaign period was resolved by a court-recorded settlement, with Razman tendering an apology to Anwar (Source: sinarharian.com.my; malaysiakini.com).