T.Y.T Tun Dato’ Seri Utama Admad Fuzi bin Haji Abdul Razak

T.Y.T TUN DATO’ SERI UTAMA AHMAD FUZI BIN HAJI ABDUL RAZAK was born on 8 January 1949 in Sungai Bakap, Seberang Prai, Penang. He is the eldest son of Hj Abdul Razak Yahya, a religious school teacher and subsequently Information Officer at the Department of Information, and Siti Aminah Abdullah.

Tun Dato’ Seri Utama Ahmad Fuzi had his primary education at King Edward VII School in Taiping and Stowell School Bukit Mertajam, Pulau Pinang. He continued his secondary education at the Bukit Mertajam High School, higher secondary education at the Anderson School Ipoh before graduating from the University of Malaya in 1972 with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons). He also attended the UK Foreign Service Programme at Oxford University where he obtained a Certificate in Diplomacy in 1974.

Tun Dato’ Seri Utama Ahmad Fuzi joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Wisma Putra) as a PTD officer and rose from the ranks as Assistant Secretary Consular, Principal Assistant Secretary Law of the Sea, Under-Secretary Europe and South East Asia, Deputy Secretary-General Political and Secretary-General. He also served in the Malaysian Missions abroad as Second Secretary in Moscow, Russia, Counsellor in The Hague, U.S, Deputy High Commissioner in Canberra, Australia, Deputy Chief of Mission in Washington, U.S. and High Commissioner in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Tun Dato’ Seri Utama Ahmad Fuzi’s 37-year stint from 1972 to 2009 at Wisma Putra, under 7 Foreign Ministers and 5 Prime Ministers, also included serving as the Director-General of the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR) that provided training for Malaysian diplomats, and Ambassador-at-Large as Malaysia’s Representative to the ASEAN High-Level Task Force on the Drafting of the ASEAN Charter and the High-Level Panel on the Drafting of the Terms of Reference of the ASEAN Human Rights Body.

As Secretary-General from 2001 and 2006, Tun Dato’ Seri Utama Ahmad Fuzi was responsible for the formulation and conduct of Malaysia’s foreign policy and diplomatic relations, including supervising and overseeing the entire officers and staff at the Ministry and Malaysia’s Missions abroad. He was also deeply involved in organising the NAM Summit and OIC Summit in 2003 and the ASEAN Summit and East Asia and Related Summits in 2005 in Kuala Lumpur.

Tun Dato’ Seri Utama Ahmad Fuzi was the Malaysia Representative to the bilateral negotiations on the Delineation of Maritime Boundaries between Malaysia and Brunei and to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) over the Land Reclamation by Singapore in and around Johor between Malaysia and Singapore. He also witnessed the settlement of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) case on the Sovereignty of Pulau Ligitan and Pulau Sipadan between Malaysia and Indonesia and the case between Malaysia and Singapore over the Sovereignty of Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge.

At the bilateral level, Tun Dato’ Seri Utama Ahmad Fuzi was involved in the resolution of the package of issues between Malaysia and Singapore and the strengthening of relations through annual consultations and bilateral visits between Malaysia and major countries like Australia, Brunei, China, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, India, New Zealand, Vietnam, Laos, and various other countries in South East Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

At the regional level, Tun Dato’ Seri Utama Ahmad Fuzi headed the Malaysian Delegation to all Senior Official Meetings (SOM) held in ASEAN countries in preparations for the ASEAN Summits and East Asia and Related Summits.

Tun Dato’ Seri Utama Ahmad Fuzi was deeply involved with the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) since its inception as the OIC Business Forum in 2003. His 18-year involvement include being Co-Chair / International Advisory Panel Member, Board of Trustee Member and finally, Secretary-General of the WIEF Foundation from 2007 until 2021. As a global platform for trade and business collaboration, 13 WIEFs had been successfully held in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru, Kuching in Malaysia and other capitals namely, Islamabad, Kuwait, Jakarta, Astana (currently Nur-Sultan), Dubai and London.

Leveraging on his wide diplomatic and administrative experience, Tun Dato’ Seri Utama Ahmad Fuzi entered the corporate world upon retirement by assuming the post of Chairman of several PLCs namely, Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Bhd; Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Am Bhd; Amanahraya REIT Bhd; Seremban Engineering Berhad; Success Transformer Corporation Bhd; Apex Equity Holding Bhd; and Board Member of Maybank Islamic (MIB) Bhd; Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd, PROTON Berhad, BERNAMA, and Connect County Holdings Bhd.

He was also Chairman & Director of several private companies such as ACE Group, ACE Investment Bank; ACE Money Exchange Sdn Bhd; Ranhill Energy Resources Sdn Bhd; PKT Logistics Sdn Bhd; Maybank Islamic Asset Management Sdn Bhd, Theatre Management Associates Sdn Bhd; and the Labuan-based Asia Development & Investment Bank (ADIB).

Tun Dato’ Seri Utama Ahmad Fuzi was actively involved with various Think-Tanks and Foundations. He was Distinguished Fellow, Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) and Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR); Chairman, IMAN Research & Consultancy; Deputy Chairman, Malaysian Member Committee of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP Malaysia); Member, Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS); Board Member, Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA); and Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Authority (MTJA); Board of Trustee, MERCY Malaysia; Perdana Global Peace Foundation (PGPF); Yayasan Sarana Pendidikan Malaysia (YSPM) and Lejadi Foundation.

He was also Patron, Malaysia – China Culture Association; President, Association of Former Malaysian Ambassadors; Advisor, Asia Pacific Enterprise Award (APEA); Malaysia-Myanmar Chamber of Commerce and High School Bukit Mertajam Alumni Malaysia. He also sat on the Board of Governors of Meritus University, Malaysia and the Board Member of Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) in Johor.

On 30 April 2021, Tun Dato’ Seri Utama Ahmad Fuzi was appointed as the 8 th Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Penang by KDYMM Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong at Istana Negara. On 01 April 2021, he was appointed as the Chancellor of Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) for a period of three years.