Nasharudin Mat Haji

Background

He was born in Rembau, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia.He represented the constituency of Yan, Kedah, from 1999 to 2004, and the seat of Bachok, Kelantan, from 2008 to 2013.

Education

Nasharudin attended the University of Glasgow.

Career

From 2005 to 2011 he was the Deputy President of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society). He was hand-picked for the position by the party"s President, Fadzil Noor, who had brought Nasharudin and other urban professionals into Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society during the 1990s to modernise the party. 1999 also saw Nasharudin"s election to Parliament for the seat of Yan.

In 2004 Nasharudin lost his parliamentary seat when he switched to run for the Besut seat in Terengganu.

The following year, he became the Deputy President of Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, making him the party"s second-most senior elected leader after the President, Abdul Hadi Awang. Nasharudin"s election to the position was a surprise: the senior cleric Haron Din had been slated to run against the incumbent, Hassan Shukri, but withdrew due to illness.

In Haron"s absence, Nasharudin defeated Hassan by a narrow margin. In 2008, he returned to Parliament, winning the seat of Bachok in Kelantan.

However, he was ultimately defeated for re-election in 2011 by moderate candidate Mohamed Sabu.

During his deputy presidency, Nasharudin had been one of Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society" leading proponents of entering talks with its long-time opponents UMNO to establish a ruling Malay coalition between UMNO and Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society. After travelling to Gaza in 2013 with UMNO"s president, and Malaysia"s Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak, he was expelled from Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society"s governing council. He did not recontest his parliamentary seat at the 2013 election. Having left both Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society"s leadership and the Parliament in 2013, Nasharudin became chairman of the Nassar Foundation, a non-government organisation concerned with Islamic matters.

He speaks Malay, Arabic, English, and Urdu.

Achievements

• The following year, he won re-election as Deputy President of Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, defeating two other candidates. His victory was seen by observers as a win for Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society" conservatives.

Politics

Before entering active politics, he was a lecturer at the International Islamic University of Malaysia. In 1999 he left academia to take up the post of Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society"s Secretary-General, making him the party"s top administrative officer