Zaliha Mustafa

Summary

Datuk Seri Dr. Zaliha Mustafa is the PKR Member of Parliament for Sekijang, Johor, first elected in the 2022 general election. She served as Malaysia's first female Minister of Health (December 2022 – December 2023) and subsequently as the first female Minister in the Prime Minister's Department for Federal Territories (December 2023 – December 2025), before being dropped from Cabinet in a reshuffle. She currently serves on Parliament's Public Accounts Committee and as chairman of the Backbenchers Club.

Biography

Datuk Seri Dr. Zaliha binti Mustafa (born 28 June 1964) is a Malaysian politician and medical doctor serving as the Member of Parliament for Sekijang, Johor, under the People's Justice Party (PKR) [1]. She was born in Johor Bahru and attended Sultan Ibrahim Girls' School before proceeding to Maktab Rendah Sains Mara in Kota Bharu, Kelantan [2]. She obtained her Doctor of Medicine (MD) from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and completed her housemanship at Hospital Sultanah Aminah in Johor Baru from 1989 to 1990 [3]. She subsequently worked as a medical officer at Pekan District Hospital and Taiping General Hospital before entering private practice, eventually running her own clinic in Bandar Putra Kulai, Johor [4]. She first contested the Gelang Patah parliamentary seat in 2008 under the PKR banner and later won the Sekijang parliamentary seat in the 15th General Election (GE15) in November 2022 with a majority of 1,734 votes [2]. Following GE15, she was appointed Malaysia's first female Minister of Health in December 2022 under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's Unity Government [1]. She was subsequently moved to the Prime Minister's Department as Minister in charge of Federal Territories in December 2023, becoming the first woman to hold that portfolio as well [1]. She was dropped from Cabinet in a further reshuffle in December 2025 [5]. As of January 2026, she serves as a member of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and as chairman of the Backbenchers Club (BBC) [6]. She also holds the position of Johor PKR State Chairperson [5].

Known for

Zaliha Mustafa is known for being Malaysia's first female Minister of Health, serving from December 2022 to December 2023, and subsequently the first woman to serve as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department for Federal Territories [1]. She championed healthcare system reform during her tenure, including advocating for a Health White Paper and a national social health insurance scheme [4]. She is also recognised within PKR for her long-standing party organisational roles, including as Chairperson of the PKR Election Committee and Johor PKR State Chairperson [1].

Political positions

During her tenure as Health Minister (2022–2023), Zaliha Mustafa prioritised healthcare financing reform, proposing a Health White Paper that included recommendations for a national social health insurance scheme to broaden funding sources and make healthcare more sustainable [7]. She worked to address non-communicable diseases, mental health, an ageing population, and legacy infrastructure shortfalls worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic [4]. On tobacco policy, the government under her watch dropped the generational end game (GEG) provisions from the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill, with the government citing the Attorney-General's advice that a generational ban would be unconstitutional [4]. She also gazetted an order removing liquid nicotine from the Poisons List, which enabled taxation of vape products; this order was subsequently ruled 'irrational' by a High Court judge in May 2026, with the government appealing the verdict [4]. On her role as Johor PKR chairman, she has signalled the party's readiness to contest up to 28 seats in the upcoming Johor state election, while remaining open to cooperation with Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional partners [5].

Education

1. Early 1970s–1980sAttended Sultan Ibrahim Girls' School (SIGS) in Johor Bahru, then proceeded to Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) in Kota Bharu, Kelantan.⛓
2. Mid-1980sObtained a Doctor of Medicine (MD) from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) after excelling in SPM examinations.⛓

Before politics

1. 1989–1990Completed housemanship at Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Johor Baru.⛓
2. 1990–1995Served as a medical officer at Pekan District Hospital, Pahang, and Taiping General Hospital, Perak.⛓
3. 1995 onwardsReturned to Johor and worked with Kumpulan Perubatan Penawar before opening her own private clinic in Bandar Putra Kulai, Johor.⛓

Political career

1. 2005–2007Served as PKR Johor State Chairperson.⛓
2. 2007–2009Served as Deputy Chief of PKR Women's Wing at the national level.⛓
3. 2008Contested the Gelang Patah parliamentary seat in the 12th General Election under PKR; lost to BN's Tan Ah Eng.⛓
4. 2009Appointed Principal of the Keadilan Academy.⛓
5. 2018–2020Served as Member of the PKR Central Leadership Council (MPP).⛓
6. 2018–2020Served as Political Secretary to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Dato' Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail under the 14th Parliament Pakatan Harapan government.⛓
7. November 2022Won the Sekijang parliamentary seat in the 15th General Election (GE15) with a majority of 1,734 votes, representing PKR under the Pakatan Harapan banner.⛓
8. 3 December 2022Sworn in as Malaysia's first female Minister of Health under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's Unity Government.⛓
9. January–February 2023Became the first Malaysian Health Minister to chair the 152nd Session of the WHO Executive Board Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.⛓
10. 12 December 2023Moved from the Ministry of Health to the Prime Minister's Department as Minister in charge of Federal Territories in a Cabinet reshuffle; became the first woman to hold this portfolio.⛓
11. 16 December 2025Dropped from Cabinet in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's Cabinet reshuffle.⛓
12. 22 January 2026Appointed chairman of the Parliamentary Backbenchers Club (BBC), as announced by Deputy Speaker in the Dewan Rakyat.⛓
13. 26 January 2026Appointed as a member of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), replacing Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin.⛓

Election history

• 2022SekijangWon⛓
• 2008Gelang PatahLost⛓

Perspectives on key issues

• ExpertThe Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy welcomed Zaliha's appointment as Health Minister, noting it signalled the new government was 'looking for new and fresh insights, and a progressive slant to the Health portfolio', and called on her to address sustainable healthcare financing, non-communicable diseases, mental health, and the ageing population.⛓
• IndustryThe Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) called on Zaliha upon her appointment to prioritise the contract doctors issue and increase the number of permanent positions in the public healthcare system, underscoring the depth of the human resources crisis she inherited.⛓
• AffectedAccording to CodeBlue, anti-tobacco group MyWatch stated that a High Court ruling in May 2026 — which found the exemption order gazetted by Zaliha as Health Minister to be 'irrational' — gave the government an opportunity to correct a 2023 policy they said contributed to the proliferation of vape products and nicotine addiction among Malaysian youth.⛓
• ExpertAnalyst Chin Yee Mun of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman told FMT that Johor PKR, under Zaliha's chairmanship, was 'overreaching' with a plan to contest 28 of 56 state seats, noting PKR had struggled to establish a foothold in Johor and won only one seat in the 2022 Johor state election.⛓
• GovernmentAccording to CodeBlue, an aide who served Zaliha during her time as Health Minister wrote in an op-ed that Zaliha had allegedly rejected an RM50 million offer to drop the tobacco generational end game (GEG) policy. CodeBlue noted that Zaliha did not respond to a request for comment on the allegation.⛓
• VerifiedFactsZaliha won the Sekijang seat in GE15 with a majority of 1,734 votes (confirmed by Bernama, FMT, NST, and Sinar Daily). She served as Health Minister from 3 December 2022 to 12 December 2023, and as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories) from 12 December 2023 to 16 December 2025. She is currently Sekijang MP, PAC member, BBC chairman, and Johor PKR chairman.⛓

Business interests (publicly reported)

According to CodeBlue and Sinar Harian (as cited by CodeBlue), Zaliha runs her own private clinic in Bandar Putra Kulai, Johor, in addition to her parliamentary duties (Source: codeblue.galencentre.org). No further business interests have been reported by allowlist sources.