Khairy first entered the politics when the country was reeling from economic and political crises in 1999. At the time, many young people including university graduates turned against the government. Khairy, who chose to support UMNO and Barisan Nasional after being anti-establishment (and dreadlocked) in university, decided to face his peers head-on and explained issues from the government's perspective. He got his first taste of politics as Secretary of UMNO Youth's Education Bureau and was sent into often hostile university campuses to meet, speak and debate with student leaders. From there, education played a central role in his political vision. He established Pusat Tuisyen Emas, in 2002, a tuition centre which provided students from rural areas free tutition classes in English, Additional Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. The program ran for five years in Tanah Merah (Kelantan), Dungun (Terengganu), Kuala Berang (Terengganu), Kuala Pilah (Negeri Sembilan) as well as Rembau.
Realising the need for a platform to expose local university students to work experience in the private sector, Khairy ran the Pemuda Internship Program (PINTAR) under Akademi Pemuda for two years beginning in 2005. Top students were given internships in prestigious Malaysian companies. Many of the PINTAR participants went on to secure permanent jobs with their placement companies.
Educated at the University of Oxford with an undergraduate degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and subsequently earning a postgraduate degree at University College London, Khairy was determined to continue the legacy of past government leaders.
Khairy's decision to serve the community is reflective of his lineage. He is the grandson of Penghulu Abu Bakar, a renowned community leader in Kota, Rembau. Khairy's late father, Datuk Jamaluddin Abu Bakar was the first in his family to go to university, winning a place at Universiti Malaya after completing his secondary school at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar. Datuk Jamaluddin went on to become a senior official in the Ministry of Foreign affairs, retiring as the Malaysian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. Khairy's mother, Dato' Rahmah Abdul Hamid, has also been involved in volunteer work her entire life through various non-governmental organizations.
Born in Kuwait, Khairy has traveled extensively around the world. His vast international exposure has only strengthened his belief in the Malaysian story and the political formula that underpins Barisan Nasional. He has worked as a broadcast and print journalist, a policy aide and as an investment banker, giving him a diverse and rounded view of both the corporate and public sectors.
Khairy's work experience has given him the skill set to be a proactive community leader. His experience as a writer for The Economist exposed him to dire living conditions during his coverage of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. During his time in the Office of the Prime Minister, Khairy was able to understand how policy was formulated and executed, an experience that has tempered his idealism with a dose of realism.
As the Deputy President of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), he will bring his experience from the successful MyTeam reality TV program and UPB-MyTeam to restructure grassroots development for better talent identification. The show took him to every corner of the country in search for unearthed, amateur footballers with outstanding potential. MyTeam was an instant hit and its season one finale was the third highest rated TV show of the year. Many players selected from the TV show were offered professional contracts to play for UPB-MyTeam Football Club in the Malaysian league which gained promotion from the Malaysian Premier League to the Super League in their debut season.
On the International scene, Khairy was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland which inducts a select group of young political and business leaders around the world as members. He is regularly invited as a speaker internationally and has written for major publications including Time and the Wall Street Journal.
Khairy is married to Nori Abdullah and they have been blessed with a boy, Jibreil Ali Jamaluddin Abu Bakar, who is known to family as "Cougar". Apart from spending time with his close-knit family, in his free time Khairy plays futsal with his (fat) friends and reads voraciously, covering a variety of genres except self-help "strategy" books which he thinks are mumbo jumbo.
Sumber : Rembau.net 7hb November 2008
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