2023 in Malaysia

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Events in the year 2023 in Malaysia .

Federal level

• Yang di-Pertuan Agong: Al-Sultan Abdullah of Pahang
• Raja Permaisuri Agong: Tunku Azizah of Pahang
• Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong: Sultan Nazrin Shah of Perak
• Prime Minister: Anwar Ibrahim
• Deputy Prime Ministers: Ahmad Zahid Hamidi & Fadillah Yusof
• Chief Justice: Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat

State level

•   Johor  :
  • Sultan of Johor: Sultan Ibrahim Ismail
  • Menteri Besar of Johor: Onn Hafiz Ghazi
•   Kedah  :
  • Sultan of Kedah: Sultan Sallehuddin
  • Menteri Besar of Kedah: Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor
•   Kelantan  :
  • Sultan of Kelantan: Sultan Muhammad V
  • Menteri Besar of Kelantan:
    • Ahmad Yakob (until 15 August)
    • Mohd Nassuruddin Daud (from 15 August)
•   Perlis  :
  • Raja of Perlis: Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin
  • Menteri Besar of Perlis: Mohd Shukri Ramli
•   Perak  :
  • Sultan of Perak: Sultan Nazrin Shah
  • Menteri Besar of Perak: Saarani Mohamad
•   Pahang  :
  • Sultan of Pahang: Sultan Abdullah Al Haj
  • Menteri Besar of Pahang: Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail
•   Selangor  :
  • Sultan of Selangor: Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah
  • Menteri Besar of Selangor: Amirudin Shari
•   Terengganu  :
  • Sultan of Terengganu: Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin
  • Menteri Besar of Terengganu: Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar
•   Negeri Sembilan  :
  • Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan: Tuanku Muhriz
  • Menteri Besar of Negeri Sembilan: Aminuddin Harun
•   Penang  :
  • Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Penang: Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak
  • Chief Minister of Penang: Chow Kon Yeow
•   Malacca  :
  • Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Malacca: Mohd Ali Rustam
  • Chief Minister of Malacca:
    • Sulaiman Md Ali (until 31 March)
    • Ab Rauf Yusoh (from 31 March)
•   Sarawak  :
  • Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak: Abdul Taib Mahmud
  • Premier of Sarawak: Abang Johari Openg
•   Sabah  :
  • Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sabah: Juhar Mahiruddin
  • Chief Minister of Sabah: Hajiji Noor

Events

January

• January 1 –
  • All gaming premises and lottery shops in Kedah ceased operations and were closed following the decision of the state government not to renew their licenses that expired on 31 December 2022. ^[1]
  • Juhar Mahiruddin was officially reappointed and sworn in as the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sabah for his fourth term from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024. ^[2]
  • Wisma Jakel in Shah Alam caught on fire, burning most of the building. ^[3]
• January 5 –
  • Former prime minister Najib Razak, who has been imprisoned for more than four months now, filed a petition with the United Nations Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) to seek his release from prison or a retrial of his SRC International Sdn Bhd case. ^{[4] [5] [6]}
  • The High Court acquitted Shahrir Abdul Samad from a money-laundering case over his alleged failure to include an RM1 million cheque from Najib Razak in his income tax declaration, after the prosecution decided to discontinue the case. ^{[7] [8]}
• January 8 –
  • Kinabatangan MP Bung Moktar Radin stepped down as the president of the Sabah Football Association. ^[9]
  • PKR fired Tian Chua and 4 others. ^[10]
• January 9 –
  • The MCMC announced Muhammad Azmi Muhammad Zain as their new interim chairman. ^[11]
  • Maqis seized 160 tonnes of pest-infested copra from Indonesia. ^[12]
  • Ex-Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng was granted a discharge not amounting to acquittal pending the outcome of his US trial (see Timeline of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal. ^[13]
  • The National Registration Department started digitising 150 million physical records kept since 1869. ^[14]
  • KDM stated their support for Hajiji Noor as the Sabah Chief Minister. ^[15]
• January 10 –
  • Online purchases under RM 500 to cost 10% extra on 1 April. ^[16]
  • Malaysia receives 31600 quotas for hajj pilgrims. ^[17]
  • Datuk Sudha Devi KR Vasudevan reappointed as Commonwealth Foundation chairman for a two year term. ^[18]
  • Sabah introduces state bills for gas supply and Energy Commission of Sabah. ^[19]
  • Entrepreneur Development Ministry deferred a repayment of RM128.6 million for microcredit loans. ^[20]
  • Goh Liu Ying retired from badminton after 13 years. ^[21]
  • Chief Minister of Sabah Hajiji Noor reshuffled his cabinet after the 2023 Sabah political crisis by appointing members of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of Pakatan Harapan into the cabinet and removing Barisan Nasional MLAs from the cabinet, except for those who declared support for him as Chief Minister. ^[22]
• January 12 –
  • Two Pan-Borneo Highway packages completed. ^[23]

March

• March 12 –
  • Michelle Yeoh wins the Academy Award for Best Actress at the 95th Academy Awards, ^[24] becoming the first Asian woman to win in that category.
• March 31 –
  • Member of the Melaka State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Tanjung Bidara Ab Rauf Yusoh was sworn in and appointed as the new and 13th Chief Minister of Melaka. ^[25]

April

• April 7 –
  • Authorities detained a 17-year-old girl and a 22-year-old man after a video of them appearing to have sex in a Pasir Gudang car park went viral. ^[26]
• April 21 –
  • Noor Hisham Abdullah retired as the Director-General of Health after serving for 10 years and from the career after 35 years ^[27] - Deputy Director-General of Health (Research and Technical Support) Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan promoted to replace him. ^[28]

May

• May 8 – Serdang Hospital was renamed to Sultan Idris Shah Serdang Hospital after the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah. ^[29]

June

• June 25 – Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim came under fire for a comment he made against a Form 6 student at a Q&A event at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Nilai, Negeri Sembilan. ^[30] Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said Anwar's controversial remark became an issue because it was "misconstrued". ^[31]

July

• July 11 - Bersatu information committee member Badrul Hisham Shaharin urged Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim over the ownership of his personal residence in Kajang, Selangor. ^[32]
• July 22 - The Good Vibes Festival in Sepang is cancelled by the government after the 1975 member Matty Healy condemned the country's anti-LGBT laws and kissed bandmate Ross MacDonald during the band's performance the day before. ^{[33] [34]}

August

• August 1 – Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad admitted to the National Heart Institute (IJN) for an infection. ^[35] He would be discharged 3 days later. ^{[36] [37]}
• August 12 – State elections held in Penang, ^[38] Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Kelantan, Terengganu, and Kedah.
• August 17 - A private jet crashed onto the Elmina interchange of the Guthrie Corridor Expressway, killing 10 people. ^[39]

October

• October 27 - Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Ismail has been elected as the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, effective Jan 31, 2024. ^[40]

November

• November 26 - Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announces at a People's Justice Party congress that citizens of China and India will have visa-free travel from December 1, allowing stays of up to 30 days in a bid to boost tourism. ^[41]

December

• December 5 –
  • The 2023 Men's FIH Hockey Junior World Cup begins. ^[42]
  • 6-year old Zayn Rayyan Abdul Matiin, a non-verbal autistic boy, is reported missing from the Idaman Apartment complex in Damansara Damai, Sungai Buloh; he would later be found dead the following day around 200 metres from the apartments. His case has been classified as murder and is being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code. ^{[43] [44]}

• December 12 –
  • Cabinet reshuffle.
• December 15 –
  • 18-year-old Muhammad Zaharif Affendi was killed when he was struck by a police officer's car in Ipoh, Perak.
• December 20 – Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim announces that Israel-registered ships, and all foreign vessels heading to Israel, are banned from docking within their ports or receiving cargo. ^[45]

Deaths

January

• January 12 – Azlan Zainol, Chairman of Malaysia Building Society Bhd ^[46]
• January 22 – Mahani Idris, wife of former Minister of Finance, Daim Zainuddin. ^[47]
• January 23 – Abd Rani Osman, former Member of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly for Meru. ^[48]
• January 29 – Gopal Sri Ram, former Senior Deputy Public Prosecutor. ^[49]

February

• February 6 – Bong Kee Chok, one of the leaders of the North Kalimantan Communist Party. ^[50]
• February 7 – Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim, former Senator. ^[51]
• February 10 – Yunus Rahmat, former Member of Parliament for Jelebu. ^[52]
• February 23 – Mohd Kamal Hassan, former Rector of the International Islamic University Malaysia. ^[53]

March

• March 3 – Lee San Choon, former President of the Malaysian Chinese Association. ^[54]
• March 8 – Syed Razak Syed Zain Barakbah, former Menteri Besar of Kedah. ^[55]

April

• April 1 – Ahmad Zaini Japar, former Member of the Kedah State Legislative Assembly for Bukit Kayu Hitam. ^[56]
• April 5 – Onn Ismail, former Speaker of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly. ^[57]
• April 22 – James Chan Soon Cheong, former Bishop of the Melaka-Johor diocese. ^[58]
• April 23 – Ramly Abu Bakar, former newscaster and voiceover artist. ^[59]
• April 26 – Fatimah Hamid Don, first Malay female professor. ^[60]

May

• May 12 – Naim Mohamad, former Deputy President of the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) ^[61] & Firdaus Muhammad Rom Harun, former Member of Parliament for Rembau and former Member of the Negeri Sembilan State Legislative Assembly for Chembong. ^[62]
• May 18 – Razali Nawawi, the founder and 1st President of the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (ABIM). ^[63]
• May 22 – Ismail Kassim, former Member of Parliament for Arau and former Member of the Perlis State Legislative Assembly for Tambun Tulang. ^[64]

July

• July 4 – Tengku Norhana, sister of Sultan of Terengganu. ^[65]
• July 4 – Abdul Ghapur Salleh, former Member of Parliament for Kalabakan and former Deputy Chief Minister of Sabah. ^[66]
• July 8 – Pahamin Rajab, businessman and former AirAsia chairman. ^[67]
• July 23 – Salahuddin Ayub, Member of Parliament for Pulai, Minister of Domestic Trade and Costs of Living. ^[68]

August

• August 3 – Fatimah @ Sharifah Nong Alsagoff Abdillah, mother of the 18th Sultan of Terengganu. ^[69]
• August 5 – Gan Teik Chai, former badminton player. ^[70]
• August 17 – Johari Harun, member of the Pahang State Executive Council and Pahang State Legislative Assembly for Pelangai. ^[71]

September

• September 8 – Tunku Ampuan Najihah, 10th Raja Permaisuri Agong and former queen consort of Negeri Sembilan. ^[72]

November

• November 2 – Natrah Ismail, former Member of Parliament for Sekijang.
• November 28 – Queenzy Cheng, actress and singer. ^[73]

December

• December 3 – Chua Jui Meng, former Minister of Health. ^[74]
• December 28 – Rosemary Chow Poh Kheng, former Deputy Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports and first Women Chief of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA). ^[75]
• December 31 – Stephen Sutton, Sabah butterfly conservationist and entomologist. ^[76]

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