Yusmadi Yusoff

Mohd Yusmadi bin Mohd Yusoff (Jawi: محمد يوسمادي بن محمد يوسف; born 12 October 1974) is a Malaysian politician and was the Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Balik Pulau constituency in Penang, Malaysia from 2008 to 2013. He sat in Parliament as a member of People's Justice Party (PKR).

Yusmadi now holds an appointment as a Senator in Dewan Negara. the Upper House of Parliament of Malaysia to represent Penang. He was appointed in August 2018.

Yusmadi was appointed as the chairman of the Senate Reform Working Committee. The appointment was made unanimous by all senators in the Dewan Negara on 20 December 2018.

The lawyer-turned-politician is also a political aide to Dato Seri’ Anwar bin Ibrahim, a Malaysian politician who is currently the president of the People's Justice Party (Malay: Parti KeAdilan Rakyat).

Yusmadi has been appointed as Adjunct Professor at ISTAC IIUM (International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization) with effect from 1 March 2019 on Pro bono basis. Areas of research are Islam, democracy and political ethics.

On October 2019, Senator Yusmadi was selected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore as the first Lee Kuan Yew Senior Fellow in Public Service at Lee Kuan School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.

On December 2019, Senator Yusmadi Yusoff was unanimously elected as the first Dewan Negara Caucus Chairman during its first meeting today.

Yusmadi Yusoff was born in Balik Pulau, Penang. Balik Pulau is so dear to his heart that he personally believes the underlying meaning of the acronym ‘BP’ is ‘Beyond Possibilities’. He began his education at Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Sungai Korok, Balik Pulau. He then continued with his secondary school at SMKA Al Mashoor) (L), Pulau Pinang and ended it at Kolej Islam Alam Shah, Klang.

He received his Bachelor of Law (Hons.) from International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). In 2007, he completed his Master studies in International Legal Studies (Human Rights) from the American University Washington College of Law, Washington, D.C. Upholding by the quote of knowledge is virtue, he was then selected as Draper Hills Democracy & Development Fellow by Centre of Democracy, Development & the Rule of Law (CDDRL) at Stanford University, California in 2008.

Partner, Fahda Nur & Yusmadi

Yusmadi is a legal practitioner by profession. He specializes in public interest litigation and criminal defense cases. He has been involved as a leading counsel and co-counsel in many high-profile civil and criminal cases. Some of the renowned cases that were handled by him involved politicians, top singers and activists namely Al-Maunah case, Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Rock Band Search, force eviction cases, Reformasi activists. He is also active in defending cases assigned by YBGK (National Legal Aid Foundation). His pride and joy, Fahda Nur & Yusmadi is a boutique law firm which focuses on civil law, commercial, crime, human rights, public interests and Islamic law.

RIGHTS Foundation

His passion towards human rights is undebatable that resulted to the establishment of RIGHTS Foundation. He is the founder and chairman of the non-profit organization RIGHTS Foundation which promotes constructive engagement and interaction on the issues of Governance, Human Rights and Social Justice in the region through forums, seminars, advocacy work, dialogues and publications. RIGHTS focal points consist of The Idea of RIGHTS, The Institution of RIGHTS and RIGHTS Hidden Hands.

Parliamentarian

Yusmadi was elected as the Member of Parliament for Balik Pulau, Penang during the Malaysia General Election in 2008. He broke the record by winning the seat for the first time ever since 1999 for PKR with the majority of 708 votes against Norraesah Binti Mohamad (UMNO). Nevertheless, during the Malaysia General Election in 2013, he was not contested to focus on his non-profit organizations and human rights activities, as well as to make way for Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik, who was eventually unsuccessful in winning the seat

During his tenure as the Member of Parliament, he was appointed by His Majesty the King as the Member of the Parliamentary Committee for Anti-Corruption under the umbrella of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). He also became an active spokesperson who championed the issues that were related to education and international affairs. He was appointed to many inter-parliamentarian committees including the Treasurer for Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU Malaysia), Secretary for ASEAN Inter Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC), the Malaysia-European Union Caucus, the Malaysia-South Korea Caucus and Malaysia-Indonesia Caucus.

Senate Reform

Senator Yusmadi Yusoff was appointed as the chairman of the Senate Reform Working Committee. The appointment was made unanimous by all senators in the Dewan Negara on 20 December 2018. The former Balik Pulau MP was the senator of the Senate in August. The working committee was set up to improve the institution. the establishment of a discussion between the members of the committee and the consent of the Senate President Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran. Among the matters to be proposed for the Senate reform is to raise the independence of the Senate as provided by the Constitution and to educate the public on the function of the institution. The Senate Reform Working Committee is capable of uniting members of Dewan Negara with different political ideologies to achieve the bigger interest of national development.

Akademi Rakyat

Akademi Rakyat was Yusmadi's brainchild that was inspired by the successful of Yayasan Anda (spearheaded by Dato Seri’ Anwar Ibrahim). Akademi Rakyat was established in 2012 and designed to empower the suburban community in Balik Pulau. It was catered to people who did not possess the luxury to seek knowledge as he believes that "knowledge is power, information is liberating, and education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family”. Akademi Rakyat was equipped with the latest educational facilities, reference books and comfortable learning places.

Fellow at Institute for Policy Research (known as Institut Kajian Dasar (IKD))

He was elected as the fellow for Institute for Policy Research from 2006 until 2008. The Institute for Policy Research was formed by Dato Seri’ Anwar Ibrahim in 1985. This organization was aimed to the cause of cultural revivalism, the construction of a civil society and the promotion of interaction among Southeast Asian countries, between the region and the rest of the world.

His forte is not only recognized in Malaysia, but across the globe. He was selected for the International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) for Multi Regional Human Rights Advocacy Programme in the United States of America in 2004. Not stopping there, in 2006 he was awarded the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship (Law & Human Rights) by the Fulbright Commission hosted by American University Washington College of Law, Washington D.C due to his active participation in fighting for the course of human rights.

Putting aside his long suit and fervent in human rights, he is also an active member of the international legal community, where he is being invited regularly as a speaker by international governments to forums. Some of the forums were the Doha Forum (Qatar), World Forum for Democracy (Strasbourg), Forum 2000 (Prague), and Tamil Eelam Human Rights Protection Conference (Chennai). He was also appointed by the Secretary General of Commonwealth to be part of the Commonwealth Election Observation Team for Maldives Presidential Election in 2013. He was one of the Election Observers at Virginia and Maryland during the US Mid Term Election in 2007 organized by the Center for Democracy & Election Management, American University, Washington, D.C.

Yusmadi is a prolific writer and his views on law and politics are sought after by both print and electronic media in Malaysia. Lelaki Di Sebalik Pulau or literally translated as The Man Behind the Island was the testament to verify the statement. The book was written by him and published in 2015. It was a depiction of his view of law and society. The book serves both as a device for the reader to improve their legal understanding and the effect on the real world.

Special guest in A Whisper To A Roar in 2009, a collaborative project between Stanford University and Prince Hecham Maulay Foundation. It was directed and produced by Ben Moses an Emmy Award winning creator of ‘Good Morning, Vietnam’. In 2004, he was the main feature actor in ‘A Neighbouring Country Story’ on Phoenix Channel, Hong Kong.

Yusmadi is known for his optimistic, objective and positive point of view. He focuses on people-centric issues to drive him forward. He does not opt for populism or dabbles in hatred form of politics when the actual issue that should be focused on is the people.

He is a strong believer in the concept of Muafakat (consensus). Quoted from The Star pertaining to his view on the upcoming 2018 PKR Election, he said, “The formula for PKR to be stronger is through Muafakat. To me, Muafakat is not only just about consensus and cooperation but Muafakat is an accord between the concerned stakeholders for a bigger agenda. And the bigger agenda is only one – for PKR to be the most sustainable, leading party for a new government”.

He believes that consensus is a form of democracy that portrays maturity with the elements of social value and humanity being infused for the sake of greater interest rather than self-interest.