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Khairul Azwan Harun
Khairul Azwan bin Harun (Jawi: خيرالعزوان بن هارون, Malay pronunciation: [khairul azwan]; born 19 October 1976) or more commonly known as Azwanbro is a Malaysian politician.[1][2][3] He is a former Malaysian Senator who is part of the Dewan Negara.[4] He is a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a major party in the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. Azwan has expressed support for youth-related initiatives in Malaysia, such as promoting English-medium schools and interfaith dialogue. His progressive political views can be seen through various initiatives that he brought forward including supporting English medium school, organising interfaith dialogue, and becoming the chairman for Kuala Lumpur International Youth Discourse (KLIYD).[5][6][7][8] He was the chairman for KLIYD for 2 consecutive years. He was formerly the Vice Youth Chief of UMNO and a member of the UMNO Supreme Council chaired by the Party President. He won the post in the national party election with Khairy Jamaluddin who won the post of National Leader of UMNO Youth Wing.[9][10] Prior to this, Azwan was the Leader of Barisan Nasional Perak Youth (the youth organisation of Malaysia's governing coalition), and the Head of the Perak State UMNO Youth Wing. At UMNO's grassroots level, he has held the post of Youth Chief and is currently the Division Chief of UMNO Pasir Salak. Personal backgroundAzwan had his tertiary education at the International Islamic University Matriculation Kuala Lumpur, and his university education at Cardiff University of Wales in the United Kingdom and Open University Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. While at Cardiff, he graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Accounting in 1999. In 2007 he completed his Master degree in Management at Open University Malaysia. Azwan also successfully completed the Leaders in Development Executive Course from Harvard Kennedy School, USA in 2014.[citation needed] After leaving university, Azwan started his career in 1999 with Ernst & Young, Chartered Accountants at the Kuala Lumpur Office and held senior positions in the Business Assurance and Corporate Recovery divisions. He was involved in Ernst & Young corporate advisory assignments at several publicly listed companies and GLC.[citation needed] CareerAzwan started his career in 1999 with Ernst & Young, Chartered Accountants at Kuala Lumpur Office and held senior positions in Business Assurance and Corporate Recovery divisions. He was involved in Ernst & Young corporate advisory assignments at several public listed companies and GLCs. He joined Perak State Government in 2004 and was appointed as CEO of Yayasan Bina Upaya Darul Ridzuan (YBUDR), a state charity foundation in 2010 until 2011. He is also an adjunct Lecturer of Management and Leadership at PETRONAS University of Technology. Azwan had also served as Chief of Staff at Perak Chief Minister's Office in 2009 until January 2010. After having served YBUDR as its founding CEO, Khairul Azwan has built his own corporate flagship namely Great Colour Group and continues to grow his group's business interest in energy, marine engineering, pharmaceutical and ICT. In sports, Azwan was the Deputy President of Perak Football Association[11] and was Perak State Super League Team Manager from 2011 until 2013. Political ViewsThroughout his political career, Azwan stands out as a progressive, moderate and no-holds-barred youth leader.[8][12] Azwan has expressed support for the principle of Wasattiyah (Moderation) aligning with policies promoted the Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. He is known for speaking his mind. In his engagement programs with the youth throughout Malaysia, he has been vocal in championing issues pertinent to the Malaysian youth.[13][6][14][15] In the most recent years, Azwan has urged for greater efforts to upskill convicted drug addicts to ensure they can integrate back into society.[16] Azwan has also voiced his concern on issues of religious extremism, climate change, sustainable energy and the need to prepare the youth for the jobs of the future.[17][7] Azwan writes constantly about the need for the youth to be attentive to the politics governing their nation. In an article in the New Straits Times, Azwan said:
For Azwan, it matters little what side the youth chooses to support. What matters more is the right form of politics, one that is less focused on character attacking and more on substantive factual debate. In this, Azwan has criticized the opposition's political strategies, which he perceives as overly emotional and sensationalist. In the opposition's Alternative Budget 2018, Azwan spent weeks debunking the promises that the opposition proposed, from the fallacy of its proposition to eradicate all road tolls to eliminating GST. Azwan has attempted to communicate economic ideas in a simplified manner to engage the broader public. Azwan has expressed opposition to Mahathir Mohamad’s role as Malaysia's opposition leader, citing concerns over his approach to modern issues.[19][20][21] Mahathir, a former Prime Minister of Malaysia for 22 years and now aged 93, became opposition leader in January 2018. Azwan has argued that Mahathir's appointment could hinder the development of youth leadership in Malaysia.[22] He has expressed concern that a man of the past would not comprehend issues such as cyber security, jobs security, climate change and modern religious extremism.[22][7] As noted by Azwan, having a credible opposition helps keep the government on its toes. Kuala Lumpur International Youth DiscourseThe Kuala Lumpur International Youth Discourse (KLIYD) is the brainchild of Khairul Azwan. It is a platform for youth to discuss geo-political issues in the focus of sovereignty, security, the cultures and the role of religion. During the discourse, Malaysian and foreign youth will be able to have an exchange of views and opinions with Malaysian policy makers, ministers, industry experts and academician. KLIYD aims to provide a platform for youth to discuss issues concerning them and the nation, such as security and cultural challenges. During the inception of KLIYD, it focused on empowering youth for a safer and better future. The threat of terrorism and radicalism is seen as one of the most dangerous threats hence it should be tackled by the government.[23][24][25] In the 2nd year, KLIYD emphasised the importance of total security. Total security means protection from both traditional and non-traditional threats including job security, energy and power security, cyber security and food security.[26][27] The discourse has created awareness amongst youth of the importance of total security in maintaining a stable and prosperous nation. KLIYD has been held annually to provide a platform for youth discussions on geopolitical and societal issues.[28][29] ControversiesAzwan was mentioned in a press conference by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission on 8 January 2020 regarding audio recordings linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal.[30] Election results
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