Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor

Yang Berhormat Datuk Seri  Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor
Malaysian Minister of Tourism
In office 14 February 2006 – 17 March 2008
Preceded by	Leo Michael Toyad
Succeeded by	Azalina Othman Said
Member of Parliament for Putrajaya
Incumbent
Assumed office  2004
Born	20 December 1950 (age 59) Melaka, Malaysia
Political party	United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) part of Barisan Nasional
Spouse(s)	Enny Beatrice Ferlat Kusumo Anggraini
Children	4 sons 5 daughters
Occupation	Politician
Religion	Islam

Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan bin Tengku Mansor (born 20 December 1950) is a Malaysian politician. He was the Malaysian Minister of Tourism from 2006 to 2008, and he was appointed as the Secretary-General of United Malays National Organization (UMNO) following the resignation of Dato' Seri Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad on 20 March 2008.

Early life

He was born in Melaka, Malaysia. He obtained a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from Mara Technology Institute (Malay: Institut Teknologi Mara, ITM), which is now known as Mara Technology University (Malay: Universiti Teknologi Mara, UiTM), and a BBA from the University of Southern California.

Tengku Adnan held important positions in the corporate sector, such as Director and Chairman of Far East Asset (FEA) and Chairman of UNZA Holdings Bhd.

He married Datin Seri Enny Beatrice Ferlat Kusumo Anggraini. They had four sons and five daughters.

Political career

Tengku Adnan join politics in the early 1980s. He became the Treasurer of the UMNO Youth in 1988. He was elected to the Supreme Council in 1993 but lost the position in 1996. He obtained the post again in September 2004.

In 29 November 2001, he was appointed the Chairman of the Federal Territory Barisan Nasional. In 2003, he was appointed the Chief of the Putrajaya UMNO, and later he won the position again uncontested in the party election in June 2004. He won the Parliamentary seat of Putrajaya in the general election of 21 March 2004 by defeating Abdul Rahman Othman of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

Tengku Adnan was appointed as the Tourism Minister, replacing Datuk Dr. Leo Michael Toyad, on 14 February 2006. He was dropped from the cabinet following the March 2008 general election.

Controversy

Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan was called to testify in front of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Video Clip investigating the allegation of illegal intervention into the appointment process of Malaysian judges that purportedly occurred in 2002. The formation of the commission was a follow-up to a recommendation by a three-man panel which was tasked to determine the authenticity of a video clip of a telephone conversation that raised the allegation.

The Malaysian cabinet has ordered the attorney-general to immediately direct agencies to investigate on allegations levelled against six prominent individuals identified in the Lingam video clip affair. The six are former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, retired chief justices Tun Mohd Eusoff Chin and Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan and prominent lawyer Datuk V.K. Lingam. There was sufficient cause to invoke the Sedition Act 1948, the Prevention of Corruption Act 1961, the Legal Profession Act 1976, the Official Secrets Act 1972 and the Penal Code against some of the principal individuals involved^[1]

There is also another controversy with regards to a statement he made about female bloggers where he has publicly called female bloggers liars. This has caused an uproar among the web community and has attracted a lot of negative reactions ^[2]. It was also published in one of the vernacular newspaper in the country, i.e. Sin Chew Daily and in the Straits Times, Singapore quoting what he said as "All bloggers are liars, they cheat people using all kinds of methods. From my understanding, out of 10,000 unemployed bloggers, 8,000 are women."^[3][4].

References

• Utusan Malaysia, 15 February 2006