Reezal Merican bin Naina Merican (Jawi: ريزال ماريکان بن ناينا ماريکان;[1] born 29 July 1972) is a Malaysian politician and banker who has served as the 9th chairman of the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) since May 2023 and member of the Penang State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Bertam since August 2023.[2] He served as the minister of housing and local government in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob from August 2021 to the collapse of the BN administration in November 2022, the minister of youth and sports in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration under former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin from March 2020 to the collapse of the PN administration in August 2021 and the member of parliament (MP) for Kepala Batas from the retirement of 5th and former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as the MP from politics in May 2013 to his electoral defeat in November 2022. He is also a member and division chief of Kepala Batas of the Supreme Council of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of the BN coalition and one of the only two Penang BN and UMNO MLAs alongside MLA for Sungai Acheh Rashidi Zinol. He has also served as chief of the Elections Department of UMNO since March 2023. He is an ethnic Malay of mixed Indian descent.
Before entering Parliament, Reezal worked in the bank sector.[3] Reezal took over Abdullah as the party's division head of Kepala Batas and as the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the parliamentary seat.[4] Reezal won the seat in the 2013 Malaysian general election while defeated a candidate from the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) by 4,176 majority of the votes.[5] In October 2013, he was elected to Supreme Council of UMNO, the highest-ranking body of the party.[6] In a cabinet reshuffle on 28 July 2015, Reezal was picked as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs by former prime minister Najib Razak. Despite winning the majority to defend his seat in his parliamentary constituency, Reezal lost his cabinet post following the results of the 2018 Malaysian general election. At the 2023 Penang state election, he alongside Rashidi Zinol are the only Malay representatives in the PH-BN Unity Government elected from the mainland Seberang Perai part of Penang.
On 29 August 2015, Reezal intimidated Malaysians participating in the Bersih 4 demonstrations abroad that the Foreign Ministry would gather their information for eventual legal action against them, without even citing which law the citizen abroad violated.[7]
After first wife Ismalina Ismail and second wife Sharifah Norhaslinda which once filed for divorce with Reezal but retracted.[8]
| Year | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Pct | Opponent(s) | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | P041 Kepala Batas | Reezal Merican Naina Merican (UMNO) | 25,128 | 54.53% | Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden (PAS) | 20,952 | 45.47% | 46,738 | 4,176 | 90.52% | ||
| 2018 | Reezal Merican Naina Merican (UMNO) | 22,459 | 42.94% | Zaidi Zakaria (AMANAH) | 17,723 | 33.89% | 53,127 | 4,736 | 87.78% | |||
| Siti Mastura Muhammad (PAS) | 12,120 | 23.17% | ||||||||||
| 2022 | Reezal Merican Naina Merican (UMNO) | 25,737 | 37.14% | Siti Mastura Muhammad (PAS) | 28,604 | 41.27% | 69,302 | 2,867 | 83.41% | |||
| Muhammad Daniel Abdul Majeed (MUDA) | 14,214 | 20.51% | ||||||||||
| Hamidi Abu Hassan (PEJUANG) | 747 | 1.08% | ||||||||||
| Year | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Pct | Opponent(s) | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | N02 Bertam | Reezal Merican Naina Merican (UMNO) | 10,453 | 56.24% | Khaliq Mehtab Mohd Ishaq (BERSATU) | 8,132 | 43.76% | 18,711 | 2,321 | 77.44% | ||
Pahang :
Grand Knight of the Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang (SSAP) – Dato' Sri (2008)[16][17]
Knight Companion of the Order of the Crown of Pahang (DIMP) – Dato' (2006)[16][18]
Penang:
Commander of the Order of the Defender of State (DGPN) – Dato' Seri (2023)[19]
