Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Mohd Yusoff is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Siti Zailah.
Yang Berhormat Dato' Hajah
Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff
DJMK JMK SMK MP
سيتي ظل ﷲ محمد يوسف‎
Siti Zailah in 2018
Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development
In office
30 August 2021 – 24 November 2022
MonarchAbdullah
Prime MinisterIsmail Sabri Yaakob
MinisterRina Harun
Preceded byHerself
Succeeded byAiman Athirah Sabu
ConstituencyRantau Panjang
In office
10 March 2020 – 16 August 2021
MonarchAbdullah
Prime MinisterMuhyiddin Yassin
MinisterRina Harun
Preceded byHannah Yeoh Tseow Suan
Succeeded byHerself
ConstituencyRantau Panjang
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Rantau Panjang
Incumbent
Assumed office
8 March 2008
Preceded byAbdul Fatah Harun (PAS)
Majority4,486 (2008)
6,362 (2013)
6,150 (2018)
20,636 (2022)
Faction represented in Dewan Rakyat
2008–2020Malaysian Islamic Party
2020–Perikatan Nasional
Faction represented in Dewan Negara
2000–2006Malaysian Islamic Party
Personal details
Born
Siti Zailah binti Mohd Yusoff

(1963-10-12) 12 October 1963 (age 61)
Kelantan, Malaysia
CitizenshipMalaysian
Nationality Malaysia
Political partyMalaysian Islamic Party (PAS)
Other political
affiliations		Pakatan Rakyat (PR)
(2008–2015)
Gagasan Sejahtera (GS)
(2016–2020)
Perikatan Nasional (PN)
(since 2020)
OccupationPolitician
Websitesitizailah.blogspot.com
Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff on Parliament of Malaysia

Siti Zailah binti Mohd Yusoff (Jawi: سيتي ظل ﷲ بنت محمد يوسف; born 12 October 1963) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rantau Panjang since March 2008. She served as the Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development for the second term in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and former Minister Rina Harun from August 2021 to the collapse of the BN administration in November 2022 and the first term in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration under former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and former Minister Rina from March 2020 to the collapse of the PN administration in August 2021. She is a member and Women Chief of the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), a component party of the PN and formerly Gagasan Sejahtera (GS) as well as Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalitions.[1]

Political career

She was elected to the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia for Rantau Panjang in the 2008 general election.[2] Before her election she was a Senator for Kelantan, an appointed position.[3] She won the seat again in the 2013 general election.

In 2011, she was elected as the head of PAS Muslimat, the women's wing of PAS. She retained the post in the 2013 party elections.[4]

Controversies and issues

In July 2014, after the shootdown of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, Siti Zailah stated that in light of the possibility of "Allah's wrath", Malaysia Airlines should stop serving alcohol and revise the dress code of the female flight attendants, and especially so for Muslim females. Empower, the non-governmental organization criticized her statements, accusing them of being "insensitive and irrelevant".[5]

During the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020, Siti Zailah, the newly appointed deputy minister for women and family development brought up the question of shariah-compliant uniforms at a time when airline staff were facing likely job cuts, resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak causing a worldwide collapse in travel demand, in Parliament. She faced backlash from the National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia,[6] and from both the public and former Youth and Sports minister YB Syed Saddiq.[7]

Within the same period, she made a post on Twitter, noting that "The fatality rate for COVID-19 is only just 1%, but the chances of us dying at any moment is 100%. Renew our faith and be afraid of Allah, as death is something that is genuine, and comes without invitation". After much blowback on social media, she temporarily closed her Twitter account.[6]

In February 2022, she made an Instagram video telling husbands how to punish their wives for "unruly" behavior. She suggested that a husband should start by communicating and if that fails, he should refuse to sleep with his wife. If the wife still does not change her behavior, Siti recommended husbands beat their wives "gently" and use the “bodily contact method” as punishment. This led to outcries from the women's rights coalition Joint Action Group for Gender Equality and from its members such as Sisters in Islam, the Women's Aid Organisation, the Women's Centre for Change, calling for her to step down.[8][9][10]

In May 2023, Siti Zailah is being investigated for illegally using water from a fire hydrant for the use of residents in her constituency facing a water shortage due to the 2023 heat wave. While she claimed that she has gotten permission from Air Kelantan Sdn. Bhd. (AKSB) in her Facebook page, Kelantan Fire and Rescue Department director Zainal Madasin said otherwise. Zainal had also checked with AKSB managing director Nazmi Ghazali Azmi and confirmed that neither agency had received any request from Siti Zailah. Zainal and Nazmi have lodged police reports on the issue.[11][12]

On 24 March 2024, Siti Zailah and her daughter were injured after a car accident along Jalan Bukit Antarabangsa, Ampang Jaya, Selangor. The accident involved a 4WD which they were in and a car. Investigations revealed that it was raining heavily during the time of the accident. The 4WD was manoeuvring around a corner when the car, that was traveling in the opposite direction, suddenly entered its path. The 4WD driver was not able to avoid the car and crashed. Siti Zailah and others injured were then hospitalised at the Ampang Hospital for treatment at the emergency room yellow zone. Siti Zailah added that they were ten minutes into their drive to a fast-breaking event in Puchong, Selangor.[13]

Election results

Parliament of Malaysia[14][15][16][17][18][19][20]
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2008 P023 Rantau Panjang Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff (PAS) 19,344 54.57% Mohd Afandi Yusoff (UMNO) 14,858 41.91% 35,451 4,486 78.11%
Isma Airfath Hassanuddin (IND) 330 0.93%
2013 Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff (PAS) 23,724 56.57% Ghazali Ismail (UMNO) 17,448 41.61% 41,934 6,362 79.27%
2018 Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff (PAS) 24,581 50.82% Abdullah Mat Yasim (UMNO) 18,431 38.10% 49,639 6,150 75.08%
Wan Shah Jihan Wan Din (AMANAH) 5,361 11.08%
2022 Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff (PAS) 37,759 62.38% Zulkarnain Yusoff (UMNO) 17,123 28.29% 61,406 20,636 64.91%
Wan Shah Jihan Wan Din (AMANAH) 4,256 7.03%
Ibrahim Ali (PUTRA) 1,216 2.01%
Mohd Zain Ismail (PRM) 172 0.29%

Honours

See also

References

  1. ^ "Siti Zailah binti Mohd Yusoff, Y.B. Puan" (in Malay). Parliament of Malaysia. Archived from the original on 14 April 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  2. ^ "Malaysia Decides 2008". The Star (Malaysia). Retrieved 20 December 2009.
  3. ^ "Kelantan Continues To Add Colour To Local Politics". Bernama. 24 February 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  4. ^ "Siti Zailah retains PAS Muslimat top post". The Star. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  5. ^ Hodal, Kate. "MH370 families offer to counsel bereaved relatives of MH17 victims" (Archived 1 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine). The Guardian. 27 July 2014. Retrieved on 3 August 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Deputy minister closes Twitter account after uproar over Covid-19 post". Free Malaysia Today. 16 March 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  7. ^ Tan, Tarrence (14 March 2020). "Dep Women and Family Minister slammed for emphasising syariah-compliant attire for flight attendants". The Star. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  8. ^ "Give unruly wives a gentle beating, minister tells Malaysian men". The Times. 15 February 2022. ISSN 0140-0460.
  9. ^ "Malaysian woman minister says OK for men to use 'firm touch' on 'stubborn wives'". South China Morning Post. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  10. ^ Solhi, Farah (14 February 2022). "Siti Zailah urged to resign over her marital advice videos | New Straits Times". NST Online. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  11. ^ "MP did not ask for permission to take water from fire hydrant, says Kelantan Bomba director". The Star. 7 May 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  12. ^ Yusry, Muhammad (8 May 2023). "Kelantan Bomba chief says MP didn't seek permission to channel water from hydrant to residents". Malay Mail. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  13. ^ "Rantau Panjang MP, daughter injured in Bukit Antarabangsa crash". The Star. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  14. ^ "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri". Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 27 May 2010. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  15. ^ "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 19 April 2013. Results only available from the 2004 election (GE11).
  16. ^ "KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM 13". Sistem Pengurusan Maklumat Pilihan Raya Umum (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Archived from the original on 14 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2017.Results only available for the 2013 election.
  17. ^ "my undi : Kawasan & Calon-Calon PRU13 : Keputusan PRU13 (Archived copy)". www.myundi.com.my. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  18. ^ "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13". Utusan Malaysia. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  19. ^ "SEMAKAN KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM KE - 14" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  20. ^ "The Star Online GE14". The Star. Retrieved 24 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  21. ^ Abdullah, Sharifah Mahsinah (11 November 2019). "Auditor general among 623 to receive Kelantan awards". New Straits Times. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  22. ^ "Ketua Audit Negara dahului senarai 623 penerima kehormatan Kelantan". Bernama (in Malay). 11 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.