Idris Jala's second term as Senator will end on September 3 - Abu Zahar

He said according to the Federal Constitution, the maximum period for a person to be senator was two terms, or six years.

Idris, who is the chief executive officer of the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu), a unit under the Prime Minister's Department, was appointed as a senator on Sept 1, 2009, and re-appointed on Sept 3, 2012 for a second term.

With his appointment as senator, Idris, a native of Bario, Sarawak, has been Minister in the Prime Minister's Department to this date.

Abu Zahar told Bernama that Idris was a capable, competent, creative and dynamic senator who had contributed a lot to the country and people.

"He is a national leader who came from a remote village in Sarawak. I hope that although he will no longer be a senator, Idris will continue to contribute to national development," he said.

Idris yesterday tweeted: "Today was my last cabinet meeting. Constitutional limit of 6 years as senator/minister. I will continue as CEO of Pemandu." Idris holds a bachelors degree in Social Science (Honours), Development Studies/Management from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and a master's in Industrial Relations from Warwick University, United Kingdom.

He began his career as an industrial relations officer with Shell in 1987, before being appointed as executive director of Shell Malaysia Ltd (Gas & Power) in 2003.