Ab Rauf Yusoh

He is a Member of Supreme Council and Division Chief of Masjid Tanah of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of the BN coalition.

In the 2021 Melaka state election, Ab Rauf made his electoral debut and was nominated by BN to contest for the Tanjung Bidara seat replacing the retiring MLA Md Rawi Mahmud.

On 26 November 2021, Chief Minister Sulaiman appointed Ab Rauf as a Senior EXCO member for the portfolios of Investment, Industry, Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives.

[3] As the only Senior EXCO member, Ab Rauf was the de facto Deputy Chief Minister and second most powerful person in the state government of Melaka after Sulaiman.

Among the notable ones is the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) railway network that applies the Magnetic Levitation (MagLev) technology and connects all the districts of the state.

[14] His appointment also met criticisms from fellow BN Rembia MLA Muhammad Jailani Khamis who labelled him a "backdoor" Chief Minister.

On 1 April 2023, Ab Rauf directly confirmed it and asked the people to expect an exemplary, appealing and attractive EXCO lineup.

He also rubbished the allegations that the appointments of Deputy EXCO Members are wastes of resources and money as he wanted all MLAs to be given roles to work with him on developing the state.