Ramli Ngah Talib

Born in the Malaysian rural heartland of Pasir Salak, Perak, he was raised in a kampong upbringing. Both his great grandfather, Tok Anjang Pelita and great great grandfather, Dato' Sagor, Dato Maharaja Lela and other Malay warriors were involved in the rebellion against British occupation in Malaya, resulting in the killing of the first British Resident of Perak, J. W. W. Birch on 2 November 1875.

With the essential qualification he was accepted to the school of his choice, furthering his studies at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK). Then, he pursued his studies in Law at Queen's University Belfast, where he obtained a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) before obtaining his Barrister-at-Law degree at Lincoln’s Inn, London. In the 1960s whilst in the United Kingdom, he was active in the Students Union in Belfast of Northern Ireland, the political secretary and magazine editor of the Kesatuan Melayu United Kingdom (United Kingdom Malay Students Association) based in London.

On returning to Malaysia, he became a Law Lecturer at the Institute Technology MARA (now known as UITM) and a part-time lecturer at the University of Malaya (UM) in the early 1970s. In 1971 he became the first inhouse legal advisor of Lembaga Letrik Negara (now known as Tenaga) and at the same time he became qualified as an Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya. He started practising law in Kadir, Tan & Ramli which he co-founded in 1977. Around this time he was appointed as a member of the Board of Directors of Utusan Melayu, a Malay mainstream media and a member of the Board of Directors of Lembaga Lektrik Negara (now Tenaga Nasional Bhd), the country's biggest power utility company.

In politics, among other posts he was the Chairman of Perak UMNO Liaison Committee from 1984-2000 and a member of the UMNO Supreme Council from 1980-2006. In 2014 he was appointed as the Pro-Chancellor of the University of Malaya. He is also a permanent member of Dewan Negara Perak (Privy Council Perak) and a holder of the title Orang Kaya-Kaya Seri Agar Diraja (Dato’ Sagor), which he inherited from his great great grandfather Dato’ Sagor.

Ramli was first elected as a Perak State Assemblyman for his area, Kampung Gajah Perak in 1978, then appointed as a member of the Perak State Executive Council. In the first year of the second term as State Assemblyman, he has reached the pinnacle of his chosen vocation by being appointed as the Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) of Perak and remained as one for more than 17 years, the longest serving Menteri Besar of Perak. He became a Member of Malaysian Parliament in 1999 for the Pasir Salak constituency. During the first term as a Member of Parliament, he was appointed as a Deputy Minister of Transport and later headed the public custodian committee as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. In 2004 as a Member of Parliament, he was elected as the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat.

The Pasir Salak Historical complex, consisting of 42 dioramas carved on wood depicting all the important events in the history of Malaysia and the Malays was built on his instructions in the early 1990s. It is the first of its kind and is certainly very instructive in this aspect of Malaysian history. His stress on bringing in more institutions of higher education to Perak saw him inviting Institute Technology MARA (ITM) (now University Teknologi MARA) to establish their first campus in Perak by giving shop houses belonging to the State Government free of rent. Some years later land was made available in Seri Iskandar, Perak for UiTM permanent campus. Among other more notable projects he helped to promote when he was the Menteri Besar of Perak were the constructions of Proton City in Tanjung Malim, the biggest car manufacturing facilities in Malaysia, the Lumut Port, introduction of educational facilities like Universiti Sains Malaysia (later taken over by PETRONAS University), Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjung Malim (UPSI), the development of Meru Raya at Ipoh, the Pasir Salak Historical Complex and the development of rural centers and the promotion of industrial centers including those in the rural areas. Among these achievements, he however likes more to be remembered as having eradicated hardcore poverty in Perak in 1996.

In 1986, he was awarded the title Dato' Seri Maharaja Lela Mangkubumi by a panel of Acheh’s customary chiefs for promoting good relations between Acheh and Perak. In 1996, he was awarded the Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) by the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom for promoting closer relation between Perak and Sheffield University and also for promoting cooperation in the joint establishment of the Perak Medical College in Ipoh with Sheffield University.

He has a license to fly both types of aircraft which he had obtained in 2002. He is also the President of the Perak Aero Club and the President of Malaysia Chess Federation since 2007. He was President of Perak Football Association which saw Perak winning the first Malaysia cup. In 2007, while still a Speaker of Malaysian Parliament, he took time off to climb Malaysian Peninsula’s highest mountain, Gunung Tahan. Other areas where he partake, are mountain trekking in Norway, Bhutan, Nepal, Indonesia and Oman.

On the literary front, when he was the Menteri Besar of Perak, he wrote a book entitled “Pasir Salak: Sehamparan Sejarah Perjuangan”, a book about the Malay rebellion against British rule in Perak on 2 November 1875, and at the same time he also produced assortments of pamphlets and booklets on tourism for Pasir Salak and Perak. At the end of 2010, he completed a book written in Malay entitled “Meniti Zaman” (Going Through Eras). Here he describes the beautiful, simple but tough rural life during and after the Japanese occupation. The people of his village endured a harsh rural life, right up to the time when he entered politics in the 1970s. His next acclaimed book, “Mr. Speaker, Sir; From Kampung Boy to the Helm of Parliament” was published in 2012. In it he describes in vivid details the proceedings in Parliament in a manner not done before; the technicalities, the political posturings and the unanswered questions. His latest 530-page book is entitled “The Malays, Pathfinders and Trailblazers” a book describing the past achievements of the Malays which took him 4 years to complete. He also contributed as a writer for the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association magazine.

Ramli is married to Raja Noora Ashikin Raja Abdullah and they shared four children, namely Rizal Ashram Ramli, Ramelle Ashram Ramli, Putri Azalea Ashram Ramli and Putri Yasmin Ashram Ramli.

• {{Flag|Malaysia}} :
• 50px Grand Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (SMN) – Tun (2025){{Cite web |last=Times |first=New Straits |date=2025-04-24 |title=[UPDATED] Ex-Perak MB appointed new Penang Governor effective May 1|url=https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2025/04/1206694/updated-ex-perak-mb-appointed-new-penang-governor-effective-may-1#google_vignette|access-date=2025-04-24 |website=NST Online |language=en}}
• 50px Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM) – Tan Sri (1989){{cite web|url=http://www.istiadat.gov.my/v8/images/stories/1989.pdf|title=Senarai Penuh Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan Tahun 1989}}
• 50px Member of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (AMN) (1980){{cite web|url=https://www.istiadat.gov.my/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/1980.pdf|title=Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang Dan Pingat|access-date=23 March 2022}}
• {{Flag|Perak}} :
• 50px Ordinary Class of the Perak Family Order of Sultan Azlan Shah (SPSA) – Dato' Seri DiRaja (2000){{Cite web|title=SPSA 2000|url=http://pingat.perak.gov.my/carian-thn.php?m=1&tahun=2000&kod_pingat=SPSA|access-date=23 March 2022|website=pingat.perak.gov.my}}
• 50px Knight Grand Commander of the Order of Cura Si Manja Kini (SPCM) – Dato' Seri (1984){{Cite web|title=SPCM 1984|url=http://pingat.perak.gov.my/carian-thn.php?m=1&tahun=1984&kod_pingat=SPCM|access-date=23 March 2022|website=pingat.perak.gov.my}}
• 50px Commander of the Order of Cura Si Manja Kini (PCM) (1982){{Cite web|title=PCM 1982|url=http://pingat.perak.gov.my/carian-thn.php?m=1&tahun=1982&kod_pingat=PCM|access-date=23 March 2022|website=pingat.perak.gov.my}}
• Justice of the Peace (JP) (1986){{Cite web|title=JP 1986|url=http://pingat.perak.gov.my/carian-thn.php?m=1&tahun=1986&kod_pingat=JP|access-date=21 August 2022|website=pingat.perak.gov.my}}

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{{s-ttl|title=Chief Minister of Perak|years=1983–1999}}

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{{s-ttl|title=Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Penang|years= 1 May 2025 - Present}}

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Category:1941 births

Category:Living people

Category:People from Perak

Category:Malaysian Muslims

Category:Malaysian politicians of Malay descent

Category:Alumni of Queen's University Belfast

Category:United Malays National Organisation politicians

Category:Members of the Perak State Legislative Assembly

Category:Perak state executive councillors

Category:Malaysian MPs 1999–2004

Category:Malaysian MPs 2004–2008

Category:Chief ministers of Perak

Category:Speakers of the Dewan Rakyat

Category:Governors of Penang

Category:Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia

Category:Members of the Order of the Defender of the Realm