TopicsPolitician AnalysisRuslan Muharam
Ruslan Muharam
- Party
- PBS · United Sabah Party
- Coalition
- GRS
- Constituency
- Lumadan
- State
- Sabah
Why this matters to you
As State Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industries (since December 2025), Ruslan directly oversees policies affecting Sabah farmers, fishermen, and food industry smallholders — including support for local produce marketing and income stability. Residents of Lumadan and the wider Sipitang district stand to be affected by his advocacy for the Sabah Oil and Gas Industrial Park (SOGIP) economic spillover benefits flagged by the GRS government during the 2025 election campaign. His push for inter-agency cooperation on agricultural marketing has direct implications for smallholders who depend on government-linked channels to sell produce domestically and abroad.
Party History
- Career span
- 2020–2025
- Career win rate
- 100%
- PBS
Data from Lompat (by Zach Yek), built on the Malaysian Election Corpus (by Thevesh Thevananthan). CC0.
Summary
Datuk Ruslan bin Muharam (born 4 November 1963) is the PBS Member of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly for Lumadan (N34), first elected in September 2020 and re-elected in November 2025. He serves as State Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industries under the GRS state government and holds a Master's degree in Political Science from UTM. He has been a PBS Vice President (Muslim Bumiputera quota) since 2003 and PBS Sipitang Divisional Liaison Chief since 1999.
Biography
Datuk Ruslan bin Muharam (born 4 November 1963) is a Malaysian politician from the United Sabah Party (PBS) who has served as the Member of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Lumadan (N34) since September 2020 [1]. He is of Bisaya ethnicity and attended Sekolah Kebangsaan Suasa for his primary education [2]. He holds a Master's degree in Political Science from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), which he received at the 2022 UTMSPACE Convocation Ceremony [3]. Within PBS, he has served as Vice President under the Muslim Bumiputera quota since 2003, and as PBS Sipitang Divisional Liaison Chief since 1999 [1]. He first won the Lumadan seat in the 2020 Sabah state election, defeating eight other candidates in a multi-cornered contest [3]. Following his re-election in November 2025, he was appointed State Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industries under Chief Minister Hajiji Noor and Minister Jamawi Ja'afar, effective December 2025 [1]. Prior to this portfolio, he served as State Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister from January 2023 until November 2025 [4]. He is a father of five and has 14 grandchildren. His wife is Datin Nursiah Santri [3].
Known for
Ruslan Muharam is recognised as a long-serving PBS grassroots leader in the Sipitang-Lumadan corridor, holding the position of PBS Sipitang Divisional Liaison Chief since 1999. He represents the Muslim Bumiputera constituency within PBS, a party historically associated with Kadazan-Dusun-Murut communities but which positions itself as multiracial. Since December 2025, he has taken on a direct role in Sabah's agriculture and fisheries policy as State Assistant Minister.
Political positions
Ruslan has publicly emphasised the need for inter-governmental agency cooperation to help Sabah's agricultural smallholders improve their livelihoods and market access, including internationally. He has stated that the agriculture sector holds significant potential for growth through systematic and efficient strategies. As a GRS component member, he operates within the coalition's framework of cooperation with the federal Pakatan Harapan government. No publicly reported positions on contentious national policy issues were found in the sources reviewed.
References
Education
Political career
- 1999Appointed PBS Sipitang Divisional Liaison Chief, a position he has held since.⛓
- 2003Elected as Vice President of PBS under the Muslim Bumiputera quota, a position he has held since.⛓
- 26 September 2020Won the Lumadan (N34) state seat in the 2020 Sabah state election, defeating eight candidates under the GRS-PBS ticket.⛓
- January 2023Appointed State Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister of Sabah under Chief Minister Hajiji Noor.⛓
- 29 November 2025Re-elected as Lumadan assemblyman in the 17th Sabah state election (PRN17), winning with 7,967 votes and a majority of 4,254 over nearest rival.⛓
- December 2025Appointed State Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industries under Chief Minister Hajiji Noor and Minister Jamawi Ja'afar.⛓
Election history
Stance evolution
Public statements grouped chronologically. The party tag shows which party the politician was contesting under at that point.
- 2026PBS
We see a need to boost strategic cooperation between agriculture players with government agencies under the ministry
- 2022PBS
Today I received a master's degree in Political Science
Perspectives on key issues
- GovernmentGRS chairman Hajiji Noor praised Ruslan's service record and contributions to local development in Lumadan during the 2025 Sabah state election campaign, expressing confidence in defending the seat.⛓
- VerifiedFactsRuslan Muharam won re-election in Lumadan (N34) in November 2025 with 7,967 votes and a majority of 4,254, as confirmed by official election results published by Free Malaysia Today and Utusan Malaysia.⛓
- VerifiedFactsPBS, as part of GRS, won six state seats in the 2025 Sabah election — Kundasang, Matunggong, Tandek, Kiulu, Lumadan and Telupid — contributing to GRS's total of 29 seats.⛓
Sources
Every URL the AI used to draft this profile, for editor and reader verification.