Jamaludin Jarjis - A Brief Biography

Yang Berhormat Dato' Sri Dr. Jamaludin b Dato' Mohd Jarjis is a Malaysian politician and the former Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation in the Cabinet of Malaysia.

Jamaluddin is a highly qualified electrical engineer. He graduated with first class honours in Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from University of Manchester, Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST).

He went on to pursue his higher degrees in Canada. He obtained a Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering from University of Manitoba and a PhD in Electrical Engineering (Power System) from McGill University in 1980. The title of his PhD thesis is "Loadflow Feasibility Conditions in Power Networks".

Jamaluddin Jarjis has held a number of positions throughout his professional career. He began his career as a lecturer at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in 1974.

In 1984, he established his own engineering consultancy firm, J&A Associates. Since then, he has become the Executive Vice Chairman of EPE Power Corporation and Chairman of Tenaga Nasional Berhad, the national power supply company.

Political Career

Jamaluddin has been the Member of Parliament for Rompin, Pahang since 1990. He was elected to the UMNO Supreme Council in May 2000. This election increased his prominence in Malaysian politics.

The various cabinet positions that Jamaluddin has held since November 2002 include:

* November 2002 - Second Finance Minister
* January 2004 - Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs.
* March 2004 - 2008 Minister Of Science, Technology and Innovation. (He was not re appointed a Minister after the 2008 election)

Controversy

Jamaluddin was involved in a controversy while on a working visit to the United States. He had met up with Malaysian students studying at a particular university. He insulted two Malaysian Indian students by saying the student who was of darker skin colour was of lower class origin. He even said that he would help the Malay students studying there to get scholarships from Majlis Amanah Rakyat, while telling the Indian students he could not do anything for them unless they appealed through the Malaysian Indian Congress.

Family

Jamaluddin is married to Datin Sri Dr Kalsom Ismail. They have four children. (Wikipedia)

***** So was the thirtyish woman light or dark-skinned?
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