Dumadi Kepli
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Dumadi Kepli | |
|---|---|
Image of Dumadi Kepli, taken 2020 | |
| Federation President | |
Incumbent | |
| Assuming office 2016 | |
| Prime Minister | Khairi Haleem |
| Deputy | Masaira Qais |
| Succeeding | Zamrud Cahaya |
| Member of the Federation Parliament | |
| In office 1996–2014 | |
| Preceded by | Yahya Najeeb |
| Succeeded by | Yunos Sabtu |
| Prime Minister | Teruna Elyas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 20, 1961 Kucing, Kataha |
| Nationality | Katahan |
| Political party | Party Rakyat Popular Kebangsaan |
| Other political affiliations | Parti Tindakan Persekutuan (Until 1986) |
| Spouse | Ayu Che |
| Residence | Bandnar Sungai Berkembar |
| Alma mater | Kataha Provincial University |
| Awards | Third Republic Commemorative Medal |
| Nickname | "Dupli" |
Dumadi Kepli, also known by his nickname "Dupli", is a politician and former lawyer who has served as the Fifth Federation President of the Republik Bebas Ketiga since 2016. A notable ideologue of the modernist-wing of the Party Rakyat Popular Kebangsaan, he has possessed a notable influence on domestic politics despite his largely ceremonial role, influencing the appointment of Khairi Haleem as Federation Minister during the close 2016 PRPK Leadership Elections. A previous member of the defunct Parti Tindakan Persekutuan in the early 1980's, he would shift to the Party Rakyat Popular Kebangsaan in the wake of the Second Murut Civil War, having played a role in the elimination of the Parti Rakyat Popular's left wing in Kataha Province through his support of the military.
A graduate of the Kataha Provincial University, Dumadi started his career after his first (failed) attempt at the Certificate for Legal Practice, becoming a campaigner for the Parti Tindakan Persekutuan due to its alignment with the then-prominent Persatuan Kebangsaan, a right-wing coalition which had been projected to win in the State Parliament in 1986. After the surprise failure (later revealed to be due to military interference in the elections), he would renounce the party, finishing his CLP in 1988 and joining a lawfirm in 1990, where he would be caught off guard by the opening of the Second Murut Civil War. During the conflict, he would be an informant for military forces in the region, believed to have lead to the arrest of 15 major members of the left wing of the PRP in Kataha Province.
This collaboration with the military would result in an offer to become a member of the reformed Party Rakyat Popular Kebangsaan, an offer he would accept despite the concerns of his previous wife, Nasreen Rifat, an act believed to have lead to their later divorce. Dumadi would be a member of the Federation Parliament for 18 years, during which time he would form connections with both the military and modernist aligned wings of the party, establishing himself as a neutral figure within the ongoing internal conflict between the two. This neutrality would allow him to ascend to the position of Federative President in the 2016 Elections, alongside Federation Minister Khairi Haleem. Dumadi is the second Federative President to be born in Kataha, and the first to self-identity as a member of the Katahan
Dumadi has been criticized during his tenure for regularly engaging in "tea-times" with notable mining and agricultural families, with these interactions and the vetoing which occurred after them believed to have lead to the slowing or reversal of three major reform plans initiated by the Kesatuan Demokratik Popular Baharu. These blockages have made him the first Federative President to use the power of veto since Embong Adi Putra in 1867.
Early Life and Education
Dumadi was born in Kucing, in the province of Kataha. His father was a supervisor of the Kataha Provincial Mine, while his mother was a grassroots organizer for the PRK. He was raised as a member of the middle class, engaging in primary education at the Kucing Executive Institution, and getting a Bachelors in Law at the Kataha Provincial University.
During his time at the KPU, he would become a notable player in the university's Pitz team.
Political Career
Early Political Career (1982-1994)
In the aftermath of his initial failure to pass the CLP, he would become a grassroots organizer and campaigner for the Parti Tindakan Persekutuan, a role he found suited him well. His political career was almost ended before it could begin in full due to the failure of the PTP to gain the seats it had been projected to win, a failure which caused him to return to the CLP (which he would pass on his second attempt) and join a minor law firm. His career in law would be cut short by the Second Murut Civil War, where he would quit his job to act as an informant for the military against the local cell of the left-PRP in Kataha.
In the aftermath of this role as an informant, he found himself unable to acquire work, causing much tension in his interpersonal relationships (owing to an inability to pay the rent for his apartment) before he received an offer to join the nascent PRPK.
Pre-FPship (1994-2014)
Dumadi would spend the next 20 years as a member of the Federation Parliament, where he would establish himself as a notable moderate between the military and modernist wings, although he would retain a personal preference for the modernist wing internally. He would be a noted friend of many of the Federation Ministers who would claim the stage, most especially Teruna Elyas, who would repeatedly consider appointing him in a ministerial position throughout his 2010-2015 period of leadership and strongly recommend him for the Presidency during the 2016 PRPK Leadership Elections, during which he would ensure the ascension of Khairi Haleem. It was during this period that he would gain his nickname of "Dupli"- as he was jokingly perceived to be a potential duplicate for any minister who fell out of favor.
He would ascend to power during the 2016 Elections, becoming the Fifth Federation President.
FPship (2014-Present)
Dumadi would largely respect the ceremonial role of the Federative President throughout the 2014-2018 period, approving all pieces of policies placed before him. This would change with the 2018 South Kembar Scandal, which he considered a personal affront and betrayal on the part of the Saleel Family due to their previous promises to him that they were maintaining the buildings properly. This would lead to him refusing to agree to any proposed policy on the matter which did not include punishment of the Saleel, which delayed several federal-level planned reforms by an approximate 8 months. This blockage only stopped in 2019, when he was officially allowed to be impeached- and told in no uncertain terms that such would occur if he did not stop blocking said policies from passing.
This action spurred interpersonal breaks with Khairi, which have proven to be a major drag on the popularity of the party, another contributor to the perceived potential of the KDPB's victory.
Policies, Views
Dumadi, as previously mentioned, is generally a moderate within inter-party debates while leaning right in the overall political sphere, although he has shown a preference for the modernist wing of the party despite his personal favoring of the mining and farming families. He would be instrumental in the first attempt to implement the Khairi Plan in 2016, although the fracturing in relations between the two since that point has prevented more action being taken for said implementation to occur. Dumadi is a supporter of a Confederal Bill of Rights, to establish a series of fundamental rights throughout all 13 provinces and to thus solve the struggle of the Federal Police in administering equal policy for crimes. He has shown ambivalence towards greater independence for the provinces, and has overtly disagreed with increasing the number of areas designed to appoint members of minority groupings, despite his own status as one such minority.
Dumadi has advocated for stronger industrial ties to Phansi Uhlanga despite his own rightist policies, citing resource independence and room for mutual growth through cooperation between the two nations, alongside potential adoption of certain ideas perceived to have lead to major industrial growth. This has extended into asking for Federation Parliament to consider the hiring of Uhlangan computer experts to assist in the development of a system similar to the Netkhom system for the interlinkage of provincial economies.
Personal Life
Dumadi has been divorced twice, having had two children in total throughout his first marriage and zero throughout his second, and is currently in a romantic relationship with former actress Ayu Che. Dumadi is an ethnic Katahan, and has been known to hold to certain cultural festivals and traditions related to such. Dumadi has expressed an interest in computer-planned economies, and tried several times throughout his period in the Federation Parliament to institute such in Kataha.
Dumadi received the Third Republic Commemorative Medal for his role in informing the military on the location of key PRP leftists during the Second Murut Civil War.