After the war, Khir Johari returned to his alma mater Sultan Abdul Hamid College as a teacher, where he taught English. During this time, he was politically active through his involvement with the Malay nationalist organisation SABERKAS. After Tunku Abdul Rahman took over from Dato' Sir Onn Jaafar as president of UMNO, Khir was appointed as Secretary-General of UMNO and was tasked to oversee the first federal election in Malaya in 1955. After winning the constituency of Kedah Tengah, Khir was appointed into the Cabinet as Assistant Minister of Agriculture.
Government Service
Upon Independence, Khir was appointed into the first Cabinet of independent Malaya as the Minister of Education. He held on to this post until 1960, when he was transferred to the Ministry of Trade and Commerce. In 1964, Khir was made Minister of Agriculture, replacing Abdul Aziz Ishak, who had been relieved of his position and later detained under the Internal Security Act. In 1966, Khir returned to helm the Ministry of Education until 1969. Following the 13 May riots, Khir was appointed Minister of Trade and Industry as key Tunku allies were sidelined. This allowed the government to implement Malay nationalist policies in education, including the abolishment of English-medium education at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. In February 1973, Khir was appointed the Malaysian Ambassador to the United States of America, and later concurrently the Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He served as a diplomat until 1976. In 1978, Khir contested his last general election, and retired from active politics at the end of the term in 1982.
Civil Society
During and after his career in politics, Khir Johari was active in various civil society organisations, including as president of the Malaysian Institute of Directors, president of the World Wide Fund for Nature of Malaysia, president of the Malaysian Zoological Society, president of the Royal Commonwealth Society and president of the Royal Selangor Club among others. Khir was also the Charter President of Kiwanis Club of Kuala Lumpur and was later awarded the title of 'Bapa Kiwanis'. He was also the founding chairman of the Malaysian Toray Science Foundation, as well as the Tunku Abdul Rahman Foundation. Khir took an active interest in sports, serving as deputy president of the Olympic Council of Malaysia from 1982 to 2002. He was also famously the president of the Badminton Association of Malaysia from 1961 to 1985, during which the Malaysian team managed to win the prestigious Thomas Cup in 1967. Khir was also the founding president of the Sepak Takraw Association of Malaysia, president of the Malaysian Body Building Federation and president of the Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia.
Awards and Honours
In appreciation of his services and contributions, Khir was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Law by the University of Malaya in 1968, an honorary Doctorate in Education and Science by the De La Salle College, Manila in 1967, the Senatorship by the Junior Chamber International in 1967, the 'Langkawi Award' – the highest tribute for an individual Malaysian for outstanding contributions in the field of environment in 1995 and the 'WWF Member of Honour' award by the World President of the WWF for outstanding service to the environment in 1999. He was also the recipient of the Tokoh Sukan Award in 1998, International Olympic Council Merit Award in 1998 for the development of sports, the President's Award by the Malaysia American Society in 1999, the PATA Roll of Honor in 2001, the OCM Hall of Fame in 2002, the Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, the Tablet of Honor by the Kiwanis International Foundation in 2003, the United Nations Malaysia Award in 2004, and the first recipient of the Golden Years Award by the AUTORR Foundation in 2005. He was bestowed the award of the Panglima Mangku Negara which carries the title of Tan Sri, the Seri Paduka Seri Setia Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah which carries the title of Dato' Paduka and the Dato' Paduka Mahkota Selangor in 1992.
