Ab Rauf sworn in as Melaka's 13th Chief Minister

He took his oath of office in front of Melaka Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Mohd Ali Rustam at Seri Negeri here at 3.33 pm in a private ceremony, with his predecessor, Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali, state assemblymen, MPs and heads of department present.

Sulaiman, who remains Lendu assemblyman, resigned yesterday, midway through his second term as chief minister, having first been appointed on March 9, 2020 and then again on Nov 21, 2021.

A one-term assemblyman, Ab Rauf, 62, won the Tanjung Bidara seat in a tight three-corner contest, obtaining 3,599 votes against Perikatan Nasional's (PN) Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin, (3,195 votes) and Pakatan Harapan's (PH) Zainal Hassan (489 votes) in the last state election.

He was then appointed state Investment, Industry, Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Committee chairman in Sulaiman's second administration, having served as Melaka state assembly Speaker during Sulaiman's first administration.

Ab Rauf, who has been Melaka UMNO liaison committee chief since 2018, was reelected as an UMNO Supreme Council member during the party's election this year, and retained his Masjid Tanah division chief post unopposed.

A Masjid Tanah local, he received his early education at Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Jeram sbefore furthering his studies at Institut Kemahiran MARA (IKM) in Kampung Pandan, Kuala Lumpur.

He is married to Datin Seri Zuriyah Aziz.