# Saari Sungib

Saari bin Sungib is a Malaysian politician who served as Member of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Hulu Kelang from March 2008 to August 2023. He is a member, State Deputy Chairman of Selangor and Division Chief of Gombak of the National Trust Party (AMANAH), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition and was a member of the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), a former component party of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition as well as member of the People's Justice Party (PKR), a former component party of the Barisan Alternatif (BA) coalition. He is also the father of Anfaal Saari, the Member of the Selangor State Executive Council (EXCO), Taman Templer MLA and Deputy Women Chief of AMANAH.

## Political career
### Candidate for the Member of Parliament (1999 & 2004)

In the 1999 general election, Saari made his electoral debut after being nominated by BA to contest for the Kuala Langat federal seat. He lost to Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Shafie Salleh by a minority of 8,020 votes.
In the 2004 general election, Saari was renominated by BA to contest for the Paya Besar federal seat. He again lost to BN candidate Siti Zaharah Sulaiman by a minority of 12,518 votes.

### Member of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly (2008–2023)

In the 2008 Selangor state election, Saari was nominated by PR to contest for the Hulu Kelang state seat. He won the seat and was elected to the Selangor State Legislative Assembly as the Hulu Kelang MLA for the first term after defeating defending MLA Ahmad Bujang of BN by a majority of 2,134 votes.
In the 2013 Selangor state election, Saari was renominated by PR to defend the Hulu Kelang seat. He defended the seat and was reelected to the assembly as the Hulu Kelang MLA for the second term after defeating Abdul Rahim Pandak Kamarudin of BN by a majority of 2,881 votes.
In the 2018 Selangor state election, Saari was nominated by PH to defend the Hulu Kelang seat. He again defended the seat and was reelected to the assembly as the Hulu Kelang MLA for the third term after defeating Ismail Ahmad of BN and Kamalulhysham Mohd Suhut of Gagasan Sejahtera (GS) by a majority of 12,518 votes.
Saari decided against being nominated in the 2023 Selangor state election to defend the Hulu Kelang seat again or contest for other seats due to his poor health. It was reported that his daughter, Member of the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ), Deputy Women Chief of AMANAH and Division Women Chief of AMANAH of Gombak Anfaal was on the list of candidates being considered by the AMANAH party leadership to be nominated to contest for the Hulu Kelang seat in the elections to replace Saari. However, the Hulu Kelang seat was subsequently contested by the Juwairiya Zulkifli of the People's Justice Party (PKR), another component party of the PH coalition and won by Azmin Ali of Perikatan Nasional (PN), thus ending their 37-year devotion to the government. Anfaal contested and won the Taman Templer state seat instead.

## Election results

Parliament of Malaysia :
| Year | Constituency | Candidate | Candidate | Votes | Pct | Opponent(s) | Opponent(s) | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout |
| 1999 | P101 Kuala Langat | | Saari Sungib (keADILan) | 16,858 | 40.39% | | Shafie Salleh (UMNO) | 24,878 | 59.61% | 43,296 | 8,020 | 75.38% |
| 2004 | P084 Paya Besar | | Saari Sungib (PKR) | 7,956 | 27.98% | | Siti Zaharah Sulaiman (UMNO) | 20,474 | 72.02% | 29,001 | 12,518 | 77.46% |
Selangor State Legislative Assembly :
| Year | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Pct | Opponent(s) | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout |
| 2008 | N18 Hulu Kelang | Saari Sungib (PAS) | 15,404 | 53.72% | Ahmad Bujang (UMNO) | 13,270 | 46.28% | 29,178 | 2,134 | 75.88% |
| 2013 | N18 Hulu Kelang | Saari Sungib (PAS) | 21,310 | 53.62% | Abdul Rahim Pandak Kamarudin (UMNO) | 18,429 | 46.38% | 40,241 | 2,881 | 87.22% |
| 2018 | N18 Hulu Kelang | Saari Sungib (AMANAH) | 25,746 | 58.89% | Ismail Ahmad (UMNO) | 10,397 | 23.79% | 44,209 | 15,349 | 85.89% |
| 2018 | N18 Hulu Kelang | Saari Sungib (AMANAH) | 25,746 | 58.89% | Kamalulhysham Mohd Suhut (PAS) | 7,573 | 17.32% | 44,209 | 15,349 | 85.89% |