Johari Abdul Ghani

Born and raised in Kampung Pandan, Kuala Lumpur, Johari received his primary school education at Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Kampung Pandan (now known as SRK Tun Hussein Onn)^[3] from 1971 to 1976 and pursued his studies at Sekolah Menengah Aminuddin Baki^[4] in Kampung Pandan from 1977 until 1981. He continued his tertiary education at Institut Teknologi MARA (ITM),^[5] Shah Alam from 1982 until 1985 and obtained his Diploma in Accounting. He then furthered his accounting studies in the UK, which qualified him for a membership to the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants in 1988 and awarded Fellowship of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants in 1993.

Johari is a qualified Chartered Accountant and he is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.^[6]

He started his career at an international accounting firm, Peat Marwick & Co. (now part of KPMG)^[7] as an auditor. Johari was active in the corporate world for more than 25 years. He held several senior positions, including group managing director and chairman in several companies, both listed and unlisted in the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. He also held positions as managing directors of companies involved in the fast food industries, manufacturing and agriculture.

Johari is active in various social and community services. He was appointed chairman of ‘Jawatankuasa Pemakanan Negara’ at the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry. He was also a member of ‘Lembaga Pelawat Hospital Kuala Lumpur’ and member of ‘Jawatankuasa Badan Amal & Aduan Rakyat Wilayah Persekutuan’.

Moreover, Johari sits on the Malaysia Economic Council.^[8] The council, which is chaired by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, is responsible, among others, to formulate strategies to sustain the economic growth of Malaysia through foreign direct investment and domestic investments for the country and to monitor and analyze trends in the development of both global and domestic economy in order to formulate specific actions to spur the Malaysian economic growth.

Johari was also a member of the board of directors of Khazanah Nasional Berhad,^[9] the sovereign wealth fund of the Government of Malaysia. He is also the chairman of the Langkawi Development Authority (LADA),^[10] a government agency responsible for the development of the Langkawi Island as an international tourist destination. Johari was formerly the chairman of UDA Holdings Berhad, a government linked company that is involved in urban development. Datuk Seri Johari is a member of the board of trustees for the Yayasan Pelaburan Bumiputera,^[11] the parent company of Permodalan Nasional Berhad which manages more than RM250 billion unit trust funds in Malaysia. Johari is active in the Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera (YPPB)^[12] where he serves on the board of trustees. The YPPB is a strategic unit under the Prime Minister's Office established to strengthen Bumiputeras’ capability and expertise in the economy and education.

He is a founder and currently the chairman of Yayasan Bena Nusa and a board member of the Yayasan Pendidikan Titiwangsa, both of which were established to help to reduce urban poverty and improve educational outcomes for children of the urban poor.^[13]

Member of Parliament (2013–2018, since 2022)

First term

Johari has been active in politics for more than 24 years since 1988. He has held various positions in UMNO and BN of Titiwangsa. In June 2010, he was made the Acting Chief of UMNO's Division of Titiwangsa and appointed as Barisan Nasional Coordinating Chairman for the Titiwangsa parliamentary constituency. Concerned with community issues raised by the Titiwangsa Parliament, he established a Community Service Center in Titiwangsa in July 2010. Amongst the major concerns of the Titiwangsa Parliament community were poverty, squatters’ settlement, infrastructure, vendors and others. The Community Service Center operated on Mondays to Fridays from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm.

In the 2013 general election, Johari was nominated by BN to contest for the Titiwangsa federal seat. He won the seat and was elected as the Titiwangsa MP for the first term after defeating Ahmad Zamri Asa'ad Khuzaimi of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) by 866 votes.^[14]

On 27 July 2015, he was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Finance.^[15] Following a cabinet reshuffle on 27 June 2016, Johari was promoted to the Minister of Finance II.^[16]

In the 2018 general election, Johari was renominated by BN to defend the Titiwangsa seat. He lost the seat and was not reelected as the Titiwangsa MP after losing to Rina Harun of Pakatan Harapan (PH) by a minority of 4,139 votes.^[17]

Second term

In the 2022 general election, Johari was renominated by BN to contest for seat. He regained the seat and was reelected as Titiwangsa MP for the second term after defeating Khalid Abdul Samad of PH, Rosni Adam of Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Khairuddin Abu Hassan of the Homeland Fighters Party (PEJUANG) by a majority of 4,632 votes.

Minister of Plantation and Commodities (since 2023)

In a cabinet reshuffle on 12 November 2023, Johari was reappointed to the Cabinet as Minister of Plantation and Commodities to replace Fadillah Yusof who was appointed the Minister of Energy Transition and Public Utilities.

In recognition of his efforts in the areas of community, social, politics, corporate and business, he was conferred the Darjah Kebesaran Negeri Selangor (D.S.I.S) by Sultan Sharifuddin Idris Shah of Selangor which carries the title Dato’ in 2003. In 2005, he was conferred the Darjah Kebesaran Persekutuan Panglima Jasa Negara (P.J.N.) by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong XII Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Ibni Al-Marhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail which carries the title Datuk. On 1 February 2017, he was conferred with Darjah Seri Mahkota Wilayah (S.M.W.) by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong XV Sultan Muhammad V which carries the title Datuk Seri.^[22]

Honour of Malaysia

•  Malaysia:
  • Commander of the Order of Meritorious Service (PJN) – Datuk (2005)^[23]
•  Selangor :
  • Knight Companion of the Order of Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah (DSIS) – Dato' (2003)^[24]
•  Federal Territory (Malaysia) :
  • Grand Commander of the Order of the Territorial Crown (SMW) – Datuk Seri (2017)