MELAKA, Nov 21 — Lendu assemblyman Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali returns to lead the Melaka state government as the 15th chief minister after Barisan Nasional won big at the Melaka State Election yesterday.

In the wee hours of the morning today, Sulaiman, 55, took his oath of office, loyalty and secrecy before Melaka Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Mohd Ali Rustam at Dewan Seri Utama of the Governor’s Office here.

This is the second time Sulaiman has been appointed the Melaka chief minister, after having been sworn in the first time in March last year after the then chief minister Adly Zahari lost the majority support in the state assembly.

Born on December 20, 1965, in Kampung Durian Daun, Masjid Tanah, Alor Gajah, Sulaiman had his primary education at Sekolah Kebangsaan Durian Daun and secondary education at Sekolah Menengah Masjid Tanah before attending cadet training at the Malaysian Maritime Academy (ALAM) and Professional Masters in Management QAC (UK).

Sulaiman is married to Datin Seri Munira M. Yusop, 54, and the couple has two sons and a daughter.

He was elected as Lendu assemblyman in the 13th general election (GE13) in 2013, defeating PAS’ candidate Asri Shaik Abdul Aziz with a 2,503-vote majority and retained the seat in the GE14 in 2018.

From 2013 to 2018, Sulaiman served as the State Economic Planning, Investment and Industry Committee deputy chairman.

In yesterday’s state election, he retained the seat again with a massive 3,104-vote majority against Abdullah Mahadi of Perikatan Nasional and Muhammad Asri Ibrahim of Pakatan Harapan.

On October 4, four state assemblymen — Datuk Seri Idris Haron (Sungai Udang), Datuk Nor Azman Hassan (Pantai Kundor), Datuk Norhizam Hassan Baktee (Pengkalan Batu) and Datuk Noor Effandi Ahmad (Telok Mas) withdrew their support to Sulaiman, which led to the dissolution of the state assembly and the snap state election. — Bernama