In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Mahiruddin is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Juhar. The word "bin" or "binti"/"binte" means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.
Juhar joined USNO, a Barisan Nasional (BN) component party of the time, and campaigned unsuccessfully for office twice, before being elected to Dewan Rakyat for Kinabatangan in October 1990.[2] He was also appointed the Deputy Speaker upon taking his seat in parliament, and served throughout his term as member of parliament.
USNO had been experiencing a decline since 1976, when it lost the state government to the Sabah People's United Front (BERJAYA), which later joined BN.[4] It was disbanded in 1991, and Juhar was involved in negotiations that culminated in the entry of UMNO into Sabah, and the absorption of USNO members into UMNO.[3]
He was sworn in once again for his second term on the first day in 2015.[6]
In 2018, he was again reappointed the Yang di-Pertua Negeri for the third term.
On 23 December 2022, he was confirmed to be reappointed the Governor of Sabah for his fourth term from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024 for 2 years.[7]On 1 January 2023, he was officially sworn in.[8]