Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin is currently serving in the cabinet as the Minister of Higher Education, led by Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Concurrently, he is the Vice President of UMNO and one of the members representing the Barisan Nasional party in this new cabinet. In the last PRU15, he won the Kota Tinggi regional seat with a majority of 8,390 votes.

Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled is not a foreign figure in the world of politics and government. His career as a Member of Parliament began in 1990 when he won the Johor Bahru Parliamentary seat for three consecutive terms until he moved to the newly created Pasir Gudang Parliamentary seat as a result of the redistricting of electoral districts.

Apart from being active in politics, he is also involved in community activities and has been appointed as the President of the Youth of Johor, President of the Johor Rugby Association, Yang Di Pertua of the Johor Taxi Driver Cooperative, and Trustee of the Kampung Melayu Majidee Islamic Benevolent Agency. He served as a minister at the federal level from 2004 to 2013 and as Chief Minister of Johor from 2013 to 2018.

While serving as the Minister of Higher Education, he always had the desire to develop the talents and potential of the Malaysian people through quality higher education. Not only does the role of universities, polytechnics, and community colleges continue to be strengthened to bolster Technical Education and Vocational Training (TVET) and lifelong learning for the people.

Apart from that, he was very interested in entrepreneurial activities to ensure that the people could generate income without being completely dependent on the government. This was one of his main agendas while serving as the Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives.

In his recent campaign series, Mohamed Khaled stated that voters need to vote and choose a government that always strives for the people so that they can continue their lives armed with knowledge and skills.

During his service as the Chief Minister of Johor, he introduced the idea of a Progressive Johor, aiming to make Johor a self-reliant developed country that balanced high economic and cultural development. Under his administration, Johor’s Gross Domestic Output (KDNK) growth exceeded the national average when it recorded 5.9 percent, compared to Malaysia’s KDNK of 5.1 percent. At the same time, he helped promote Johor’s agenda as an International Center for Malay Civilization.

Mohamed Khaled always expresses his deep thoughts through spoken text. In fact, he is considered a unique political leader who has a collection of speech texts from his ministerial title to chief minister. The text of his remarks while serving as the Minister of Higher Education was analyzed to uncover his leadership identity through the language used.