Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim

Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim
Born	Abdul Azeez bin Abdul Rahim (1966-11-19) November 19, 1966 Malaysia
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, politician
Known for	Member of Parliament for Baling (2013–2022), Chairman of Tabung Haji (2013–2018)

Abdul Azeez bin Abdul Rahim (Jawi: عبدالعزيز بن عبدالرحيم; born 19 November 1966) is a Malaysian entrepreneur and political figure who held the position of Member of Parliament (MP) for Baling from May 2013 until November 2022. He also served as Chairman of Tabung Haji (TH) between July 2013 and his resignation in May 2018. Azeez is affiliated with the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, and has occupied the role of State Deputy Chairman of UMNO Kedah since March 2023.

Early life

Abdul Azeez is the third child among five siblings.

Party involvement

In 2009, Abdul Azeez secured a seat on UMNO's Supreme Council, ranking as the 25th and final successful candidate. He maintained his position with a re-election in 2013, achieving seventh place. Prior to this, he led "Putera UMNO," a youth faction within UMNO, and was an EXCO member of UMNO Youth.

Legislative tenure

Azeez stood as the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the Baling parliamentary seat in the 2008 general election but was defeated by the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) contender by a margin of 7,613 votes. In the subsequent 2013 election, amid Kedah’s swing back to BN, he won the Baling seat and successfully retained it in the 2018 election.

GLC and NGO roles

In 2011, Abdul Azeez was appointed as a director of Tabung Haji (TH), Malaysia’s fund for Islamic pilgrimage savings. After his election to Parliament in 2013, he ascended to the role of TH chairman but stepped down in 2018 following the governmental transition to Pakatan Harapan.

He also established and chaired the Putera 1Malaysia Club, a non-governmental organization noted for humanitarian efforts in Gaza. In recognition of his involvement, Hamas named him honorary ambassador for Palestine in 2012.

Corruption investigations

On 22 May 2018, properties associated with Azeez underwent raids conducted by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), resulting in the confiscation of over RM500,000 in cash alongside documents, jewellery, and luxury timepieces spread across four states. During this period, Azeez resigned from his chairmanship at Tabung Haji on 14 May 2018 amid ongoing investigations.

Subsequently, MACC detained Azeez together with his elder brother and cousin on 25 September 2018. After spending ten days under remand, he was released on bail set at RM500,000. On that same day, MACC also arrested his son, aged 24.

On 30 November 2018, Tabung Haji filed a police report accusing Azeez and senior executives of misappropriating RM22 million from a charitable fund intended for politically connected activities.

Further developments occurred on 15 January 2019 when MACC re-arrested both Azeez and his brother. The following day, formal charges were brought against him involving three counts related to RM5.2 million in graft and nine counts concerning RM139.4 million in money laundering allegations—amounting to RM144.6 million in total.

By 7 August 2019, Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court scheduled hearings set for 25 September and 11 October regarding Azeez’s corruption case. The prosecution requested that the matter be transferred to the High Court; this motion faced no opposition from the defense.

Issues of racial and gender insensitivity

During the inaugural parliamentary session after a governmental shift on 13 July 2020, Azeez ignited controversy by making remarks perceived as both racist and sexist. When Batu Kawan MP Kasthuriraani Patto raised concerns about female representation, Azeez responded with "sebab gelap, tak nampak" ("because it’s too dark to see"), which many interpreted as an allusion to her skin tone despite his own similar complexion. Although he later withdrew his statement without issuing an apology, he added that "if you are dark, put on some powder." The incident prompted an adjournment of the Dewan Rakyat session that day.

The following day, on 14 July 2020, the Speaker directed Azeez to apologize to Kasthuriraani Patto for his offensive comments. While Azeez complied with this directive, he shifted responsibility by asserting that his remark referred to poor lighting conditions rather than her skin colour and highlighted his own dark complexion as evidence. Kasthuriraani Patto rejected this explanation and called for more stringent measures given Azeez’s history of similar conduct. The Speaker declined further disciplinary action but cautioned that harsher consequences would follow if such behavior recurred.

Personal life

Abdul Azeez is married to Khadijah and together they have four children: Mohd Khairul Anwar, Mohd Khairul Azman, Khaleeda Azwa, and Khaleeda Azeera. He is proficient in the languages of Malay, English, and Tamil.

Election results

Parliament of Malaysia

Year	Constituency	Candidate		Votes	Pct	Opponent(s)		Votes	Pct	Ballots cast	Majority	Turnout
2008	P016 Baling	Template:Party shading/Barisan Nasional |	Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (UMNO)	28,461	44.10%	Template:Party shading/PAS |	Taib Azamudden Md Taib (PAS)	36,074	55.90%	65,764	7,613	83.47%
2013		Template:Party shading/Barisan Nasional |	Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (UMNO)	43,504	53.17%	Template:Party shading/PAS |	Najmi Ahmad (PAS)	38,319	46.86%	83,109	5,185	89.20%
2018		rowspan="2" Template:Party shading/Barisan Nasional |	Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (UMNO)	38,557	42.60%	Template:Party shading/PAS |	Hassan Saad (PAS)	37,483	41.41%	92,128	1,074	85.93%
		Template:Party shading/Keadilan |				Mohd Taufik Yaacob (BERSATU)	14,472	15.99%
2022		rowspan="3" Template:Party shading/Barisan Nasional |	Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (UMNO)	35,356	32.42%		Hassan Saad (PAS)	64,493	59.13%	110,353	29,137	82.75%
		Template:Party shading/PH |				Johari Abdullah (AMANAH)	8,636	7.92%
						Bashir Abdul Rahman (PUTRA)	579	0.53%

Malaysian honours

• • Commander of the Order of Meritorious Service (PJN) – awarded the title Datuk in 2011
• • Knight Commander of the Order of Loyalty to Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah (DHMS) – received the title Dato' Paduka in 2017
• • (Conferred in 2016; subsequently revoked in 2019)
• • Justice of the Peace (JP), appointed in 2004
  • Knight Commander of the Exalted Order of Malacca (DCSM) – honored with Datuk Wira in 2015
• • Knight Companion of the Order of the Crown of Pahang (DIMP) – entitled Dato' since 2000
  • Grand Knight of the Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang (SSAP) – awarded Dato' Sri in 2013
• • Grand Commander of the Order of Kinabalu (SPDK) – bestowed with Datuk Seri Panglima in 2014

See also

• Baling (federal constituency)