Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji

Summary

Tengku Zulpuri Shah bin Raja Puji (born 15 July 1964) is a DAP politician and member of the Pahang royal family who currently serves as state assemblyman for Tras in the Pahang State Legislative Assembly since November 2022, and as DAP's Deputy Secretary-General since March 2022. He previously served as MP for Raub (2018–2022) and as Deputy Minister of Water, Land and Natural Resources under the Pakatan Harapan administration (2018–2020), and before that as Mentakab assemblyman and Pahang State Opposition Leader (2013–2018). In his current Tras role, he has been active in advocating for multi-stakeholder governance of land encroachment and accountability around illegal farming in Pahang.

Biography

Tengku Zulpuri Shah bin Raja Puji (born 15 July 1964, Raub, Pahang) is a Malaysian politician and a member of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition [1]. He is a member of the Pahang royal family and the son of Tengku Puji Tengku Abdul Hamid, former Deputy Commissioner of Pahang and former committee member of the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) [1]. He has served as the Member of the Pahang State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Tras since November 2022, as Deputy Secretary-General of DAP since March 2022, and as State Deputy Chairman of DAP Pahang [1]. Previously, he served as MP for Raub from May 2018 to November 2022, during which he was Deputy Minister of Water, Land and Natural Resources under Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, from July 2018 until the collapse of the PH government in February 2020 [1]. Before that, he served as MLA for Mentakab and State Leader of the Opposition in Pahang from May 2013 to May 2018, and was also a member of the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) [1]. In GE15 (November 2022), DAP fielded him as the parliamentary candidate for the UMNO stronghold of Lipis while simultaneously contesting the Tras state seat; he won Tras with 45.0% of the vote but lost Lipis with 13.5% [2]. He has stated he joined DAP in the year 2000 [3]. NST described him in April 2025 as a 'two-term Tras assemblyman', though Wikipedia records his Tras tenure beginning from November 2022 GE15 — a conflict this profile notes without resolution. In 2025, he has been active at the Pahang state assembly on issues of land encroachment and illegal farming [4][5].

Known for

Tengku Zulpuri Shah is recognised as a prominent Malay-Muslim politician within DAP — a party whose membership is predominantly non-Malay — and was described by Malay Mail in 2020 as the party's sole Malay-Muslim MP during the 14th Parliament [6]. He served as Deputy Minister of Water, Land and Natural Resources under the PH government from 2018 to 2020, making him one of the few Malay DAP politicians to hold federal executive office [1]. His career has been defined by advocacy on natural resource governance, land rights, and inter-community religious tolerance.

Political positions

On natural resources and land governance, Tengku Zulpuri has been consistently active. As Deputy Minister of Water, Land and Natural Resources (2018–2020), he reported to the Dewan Rakyat on the state of permanent forest reserves in Peninsular Malaysia, stating that sustainable forest management had not resulted in forest deterioration [7]. In April 2025, as Tras assemblyman, he called for the MACC to investigate illegal durian farms in his constituency [5] and urged the Pahang state government to form a multi-stakeholder special committee — comprising land office officers, academics, police, lawyers, and religious scholars — to address land encroachment, proposing it be given three months to submit an action plan [4]. On religious and inter-community issues, he has argued that Muslims should not interfere in the business and cultural affairs of non-Muslims, publicly advising the then-Religious Affairs Minister against commenting on non-Muslim cultural festivals such as Oktoberfest [8]. He also called for state rulers or muftis to issue a fatwa barring politicians from using the Quran as a political instrument [8]. On party loyalty, he publicly rejected overtures from UMNO and Bersatu to switch allegiance to Perikatan Nasional following the collapse of the PH government in 2020 [6].

Political career

1. May 2013Won the Mentakab state seat in GE13. Subsequently served as MLA for Mentakab and as Pahang State Leader of the Opposition until May 2018.⛓
2. May 2018Won the Raub parliamentary seat in GE14, defeating long-time incumbent Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun with 20,659 votes (35.8%) and a majority of 3,159.⛓
3. July 2018Appointed Deputy Minister of Water, Land and Natural Resources in the Pakatan Harapan cabinet under Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Minister Xavier Jayakumar Arulanandam.⛓
4. February 2020Lost his Deputy Minister portfolio following the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government. Remained MP for Raub as an opposition member, publicly rejecting overtures to join Perikatan Nasional.⛓
5. 20 March 2022Appointed Deputy Secretary-General of DAP at the 17th DAP National Congress, serving alongside Sivakumar Varatharaju and Liew Chin Tong under Secretary-General Anthony Loke.⛓
6. 19 November 2022In GE15, contested the Lipis parliamentary seat (lost, 13.5% / 6,366 votes) and simultaneously won the Tras state seat with 45.0% / 17,255 votes and a majority of 11,397, becoming MLA for Tras in the Pahang State Legislative Assembly.⛓
7. April 2025As Tras assemblyman, urged the Pahang state government to form a special multi-stakeholder committee on land encroachment during debate on the Sultan's royal address, and separately called on MACC to investigate illegal durian farms in the Tras area.⛓

Election history

• 2022Lipis (Parliament P076)Lost13.5%⛓
• 2022Tras (DUN N07)Won45%⛓
• 2018Raub (Parliament P079)Won35.8%⛓
• 2013Mentakab (DUN)Won⛓

Perspectives on key issues

• VerifiedFactsTengku Zulpuri won the Tras DUN seat in GE15 (19 November 2022) with 17,255 votes (45.0%) and a majority of 11,397, while simultaneously losing the Lipis parliamentary seat with 6,366 votes (13.5%).⛓
• VerifiedFactsHe served as Deputy Minister of Water, Land and Natural Resources under the Pakatan Harapan administration from July 2018 to February 2020, and has been DAP Deputy Secretary-General since March 2022, per Wikipedia citing Bernama and parlimen.gov.my.⛓
• GovernmentBernama reported that Tengku Zulpuri, as Tras assemblyman (PH), urged the Pahang state government — led by BN Menteri Besar Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail — to form a special committee providing a 'fair and win-win' resolution on land encroachment, positioning himself in dialogue with the state administration's firm prosecutorial stance.⛓
• OppositionAs a DAP assemblyman in an opposition role at the Pahang state level, Tengku Zulpuri has consistently raised accountability questions — on MACC probes into illegal durian farms and on land encroachment — that challenge the BN Pahang state government's record on land governance.⛓
• PublicMalaysiakini reported that eleven NGOs lodged police reports against Tengku Zulpuri in October 2022, alleging he insulted the Pahang royal institution during a speech; he denied the allegation, stating his words were misrepresented during the GE15 campaign period.⛓