Muhyiddin Yassin

Who is Muhyiddin Yassin?

Tan Sri Muhyiddin bin Yassin is a Malaysian politician and the current Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Education. He is also the Deputy President of the United Malays National Organisation, the main component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition.

Muhyiddin grew up in the state of Johor and joined the state public service after graduating from university. He later took up management positions at various state-owned companies. He joined politics in the 1970s and was elected as Member of Parliament for Pagoh in 1978. During his term as MP, he was appointed Deputy Federal Territories and later Deputy Trade and Industry Minister. As Johor UMNO chief, he became Menteri Besar of Johor from 1986 to 1995.

He returned to federal politics in 1995 and was appointed to the Cabinet as Minister of Youth and Sports. He was appointed Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs after the 1999 general election and became a vice president of UMNO in 2000. Under the premiership of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Muhyiddin became Minister of Agriculture and then Minister of International Trade and Industry.

In 2008, he contested and won the UMNO deputy presidency and was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education by Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009. As Education Minister, Muhyiddin ended the use of English as the medium of instruction for science and mathematics in public schools. He also attracted controversy after describing himself as "Malay first" when challenged by the opposition to pronounce himself as "Malaysian first."