Dr. Mohd Puad Zarkashi is a Malaysian politician and is currently the Member of Parliament

Dewan Rakyat

The Dewan Rakyat is the lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia. All bills must usually be passed by both the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara , before they are given Royal Assent by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong...

 for the Batu Pahat

Batu Pahat

Batu Pahat is a district in the state of Johor, Malaysia. It lies south-east of Muar, south-west of Kluang, north-west of Pontian, and south of Segamat and the new Ledang district. The capital of the district is Bandar Penggaram, Batu Pahat....

 constituency in the State of Johor

Johor

Johor is a Malaysian state, located in the southern portion of Peninsular Malaysia. It is one of the most developed states in Malaysia. The state capital city and royal city of Johor is Johor Bahru, formerly known as Tanjung Puteri...

. He is a member of the United Malay National Organisation (UMNO) party and a Deputy Minister of Education under government of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak

Najib Tun Razak

Dato' Sri Haji Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak is the sixth, and since 2009, Prime Minister of Malaysia. He previously held the post of Deputy Prime Minister from 7 January 2004 until he succeeded Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Prime Minister on 3 April 2009. Najib is President of the United...

.

Puad was elected as a Member of Parliament in the 2008 election

Malaysian general election, 2008

The 12th Malaysian general election was held on March 8, 2008, in accordance with Malaysian laws for national elections, which states that a general election must be held no later than five years subsequent to the previous elections; the previous general election was held in 2004...

 for the seat of Batu Pahat, previously held by UMNO's Junaidy Abdul Wahab. Puad had previously been a Senator

Dewan Negara

The Dewan Negara is the upper house of the Parliament of Malaysia. The Dewan Negara consists of 70 members, of which 26 are indirectly elected by the states, with two senators for every state in the Federation, and the other 44 being appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong .The Dewan Negara...

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In April 2008, Puad called for the resignation of then Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

Tun Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi is a Malaysian politician who served as Prime Minister from 2003 to 2009. He was also the President of the United Malays National Organisation , the largest political party in Malaysia, and led the governing Barisan Nasional parliamentary coalition...

 after UMNO's performance in the 2008 election. When Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak

Najib Tun Razak

Dato' Sri Haji Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak is the sixth, and since 2009, Prime Minister of Malaysia. He previously held the post of Deputy Prime Minister from 7 January 2004 until he succeeded Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Prime Minister on 3 April 2009. Najib is President of the United...

 replaced Abdullah as Prime Minister in April 2009, Puad was appointed a Deputy Education Minister.

Puad holds a Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

 conferred by the University of Hull

University of Hull

The University of Hull, known informally as Hull University, is an English university, founded in 1927, located in Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire...

.

Election results

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"
|+ Parliament of Malaysia

Dewan Rakyat

The Dewan Rakyat is the lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia. All bills must usually be passed by both the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara , before they are given Royal Assent by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong...

: P150 Batu Pahat

Batu Pahat

Batu Pahat is a district in the state of Johor, Malaysia. It lies south-east of Muar, south-west of Kluang, north-west of Pontian, and south of Segamat and the new Ledang district. The capital of the district is Bandar Penggaram, Batu Pahat....

, Johor

Johor

Johor is a Malaysian state, located in the southern portion of Peninsular Malaysia. It is one of the most developed states in Malaysia. The state capital city and royal city of Johor is Johor Bahru, formerly known as Tanjung Puteri...

!|Year
!
!|Barisan Nasional
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|Opposition
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
|-
|2008

Malaysian general election, 2008

The 12th Malaysian general election was held on March 8, 2008, in accordance with Malaysian laws for national elections, which states that a general election must be held no later than five years subsequent to the previous elections; the previous general election was held in 2004...

|
| | (UMNO)
| align="right" |32,461
| |60%
|
| |Muhamad Abdullah (PAS)
| align="right" |19,757
| |37%