Ismail Kassim
{{Short description|Malaysian politician (1959–2023)}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Malay name|Ismail|Kassim}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = Yang Berbahagia Dato'
| name = Ismail Kassim
| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=MYS|size=100%|DPMP (Perlis)}}
| native_name = {{lang|ms|{{Script|Arab|إسماعيل قاسم}}}}
| image =
| caption =
| constituency_AM = Tambun Tulang
| assembly = Perlis State Legislative
| term_start = 5 May 2013
| term_end = 19 November 2022
| predecessor = Shahidan Kassim
(BN–UMNO)
| successor = Wan Zikri Afthar Ishak
(PN–BERSATU)
| majority = 2,481 (2013)
1,180 (2018)
| constituency_MP1 = Arau
| parliament1 = Malaysian
| term_start1 = 8 March 2008
| term_end1 = 5 May 2013
| predecessor1 = Syed Razlan Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail
(BN–UMNO)
| successor1 = Shahidan Kassim
(BN–UMNO)
| majority1 = 300 (2008)
| office2 = Senator
{{small|Appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong}}
| term_start2 = 1999
| term_end2 = 2005
| monarch2 = Salahuddin
{{small|(1999–2001)}}
Syed Sirajuddin
{{small|(2001–2005)}}
| primeminister2 = Mahathir Mohamad
{{small|(1999–2003)}}
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
{{small|(2003–2005)}}
| office3 =
| subterm3 =
| suboffice3 =
| office5 = Faction represented in Perlis State Legislative Assembly
| subterm5 = 2013–2018
| suboffice5 = Barisan Nasional
| subterm6 = 2018–2019
| suboffice6 = Independent
| subterm7 = 2019–2020
| suboffice7 = Pakatan Harapan
| subterm8 = 2020
| suboffice8 = Malaysian United Indigenous Party
| subterm9 = 2020–2022
| suboffice9 = Barisan Nasional
| office10 = Faction represented in Dewan Rakyat
| subterm10 = 2008–2013
| suboffice10 = Barisan Nasional
| birth_date = {{birth date|1959|10|2|df=y}}
| birth_place = Tambun Tulang, Perlis, Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia)
| residence =
| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|5|22|1959|10|2|df=y}}
| death_place = Selayang, Gombak, Selangor, Malaysia
| party = United Malays National Organisation (UMNO)
{{small|(1987–2018, 2020–2023)}}
Independent
{{small|(2018–2019)}}
Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU)
{{small|(2019–2020)}}
| otherparty = Barisan Nasional (BN)
{{small|(1987–2018, 2020–2023)}}
Pakatan Harapan (PH)
{{small|(2019–2020)}}
| occupation = Politician
| relations = Shahidan Kassim {{small|(elder brother)}}
| spouse =
| children =
| website =
| footnotes =
| office11 = Faction represented in Dewan Negara
| suboffice11 = Barisan Nasional
| subterm11 = 1999–2005
}}
Ismail bin Kassim (2 October 1959 – 22 May 2023) was a Malaysian politician who had served as the Member of the Perlis State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Tambun Tulang from May 2013 to November 2022, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Arau from March 2008 to May 2013 and a Senator from 1999 to 2005.{{cite web|url=http://www.parlimen.gov.my/index.php?modload=ahlidewan&uweb=dr&action=details&id=3|title=Ismail bin Kasim, Y.B. Dato'|publisher=Parliament of Malaysia|accessdate=22 March 2010}}{{Cite news
| title = Ismail: Pas' confidence in Arau win mere political gimmick
| newspaper = New Straits Times
| date = 28 February 2008
| url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-149738166.html
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121102184039/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-149738166.html
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = 2 November 2012
| accessdate = 20 December 2009}} He was a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition and briefly a member of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU), a component party of the formerly the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition. He was the younger brother of Shahidan Kassim, the current MP for Arau.
Political career
Early in his political career, Ismail joined UMNO in 1987 at the age of 28.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com.au/newspapers?id=fCwhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iHgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=925,3734009&dq=ismail+kassim&hl=en|title=Main issue in Perlis is whether party is ready for new blood|last=Shahrum Sayuthi|date=27 March 2001|work=New Straits Times|publisher=New Straits Times Press|accessdate=25 April 2010}}
=Candidate for the Member of Parliament (1998)=
==1998 Arau by-election==
In the 1998 Arau by-election, Ismail made his electoral debut after being nominated by BN to contest the Arau federal seat. He lost to Hashim Jasin of the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) by a minority of 1,323 votes.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com.au/newspapers?id=iuYVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3hQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1851,2435889&dq=ismail+kassim&hl=en|title=Arau defeat: Report ready|date=13 July 1998|work=New Straits Times|publisher=New Straits Times Press|accessdate=25 April 2010}} His nomination in the by-election was marred by allegations of cronyism and nepotism arising from Shahidan who was then the Menteri Besar of Perlis. {{cite news|url=https://news.google.com.au/newspapers?id=h-YVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3hQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2820,1209906&dq=ismail+kassim&hl=en|title=UMNO Youth changes stance on allegation of nepotism, cronyism|date=10 July 1998|work=New Straits Times|publisher=New Straits Times Press|accessdate=25 April 2010}} At the time, BN was bleeding support due to allegations by supporters of Anwar Ibrahim who was the political opponent of then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad as both fell out politically earlier in the year. Nominating Ismail as the candidate did little to rubbish the allegations. The defeat of Ismail also created history as BN lost a Perlis federal seat for the first time.{{cite book|last=Stewart|first=Ian|title=The Mahathir Legacy: A Nation Divided, a Region at Risk|url=https://archive.org/details/mahathirlegacyna00stew_392|url-access=limited|year=2003|publisher=Allen & Unwin|location=Sydney|isbn=1-86508-977-X|page=[https://archive.org/details/mahathirlegacyna00stew_392/page/n85 74]}}
=Senator (1999–2005)=
In 1999, Ismail was appointed to the Parliament as Senator for the first term. In 2002, he was reappointed Senator for the second term.{{Cite news
| last = Kaur
| first = Manjit
| title = Two years for Shahidan?
| newspaper = The Star (Malaysia)
| date = 24 February 2008
| url = http://thestar.com.my/election/story.asp?file=/2008/2/24/election2008/20430922&sec=Election2008
| accessdate = 20 December 2009}}
=Member of Parliament (2008–2013)=
==2008 general election==
In the 2008 general election, Ismail was renominated by BN to contest the Arau seat. He won the seat and was elected into Parliament as the Arau MP after narrowly defeating Haron Din of PAS by a majority of only 300 votes.{{Cite web
|title=Malaysia Decides 2008
|work=The Star (Malaysia)
|url=http://thestar.com.my/election/
|accessdate=20 December 2009 |url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100111075207/http://thestar.com.my/election/
|archive-date=11 January 2010 }}{{Cite news
| title = Coalition repeats 2004 victory in Perlis
| newspaper = The Star (Malaysia)
| date = 9 March 2008
| url = http://thestar.com.my/election/story.asp?file=/2008/3/9/election2008/20592562&sec=Election2008
| accessdate = 20 December 2009}}{{Cite web| title =Malaysia Decides 2008 (2004 results)| work =The Star (Malaysia)| url =http://thestar.com.my/election/results2004/01/01p.html| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20080821190605/http://thestar.com.my/election/results2004/01/01p.html| url-status =dead| archive-date =21 August 2008| accessdate =20 December 2009}}
=Member of the Perlis State Legislative Assembly (2013–2022)=
==2013 Perlis state election==
In the 2013 Malaysian general election, Ismail was not nominated to defend the Arau seat after exchanging seat nominations with Shahidan who was the Tambun Tulang MLA. The exchange also moved Ismail from the federal politics to the Perlis state politics and Shahidan from the Perlis state politics to the federal politics. Shahidan was renominated by BN to contest the Arau seat. Therefore, Ismail was instead nominated by BN to contest the 2013 Perlis state election for the Tambun Tulang state seat. Ismail won the seat and was elected into the Perlis State Legislative Assembly as the Tambun Tulang MLA for the first term after defeating the Azhar Ameir of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) by a majority of 2,481 votes.
==2018 Perlis state election and nomination as the Menteri Besar of Perlis==
In the 2018 Perlis state election, Ismail was renominated by BN to defend the Tambun Tulang seat. He defended the seat and was reelected as the Tambun Tulang MLA for the second term after defeating the Maton Din of PH and Abu Bakar Ali of Gagasan Sejahtera (GS) by a majority of 1,180 votes. He was also nominated by BN as the Menteri Besar of Perlis after his reelection as an MLA. However, Bintong MLA, Azlan Man was reappointed to the position for the second term instead of him.
On 20 June 2018, he left UMNO. Following this, he became the first ever independent Perlis MLA in the history of the state.{{cite news|url=https://www.bharian.com.my/berita/politik/2018/06/439453/ismail-kassim-keluar-umno|title=Ismail Kassim keluar UMNO|author=Dziyaul Afnan Abdul Rahman|publisher=Berita Harian|date=20 June 2018 |accessdate=20 June 2018}} On 7 July 2018, he applied to join the People's Justice Party (PKR), a component party of the PH coalition. However, the membership application was never approved.{{cite news|url=https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2018/07/07/perlis-crisis-figure-ismail-kassim-to-join-kedah-pkr/|title=Perlis crisis figure Ismail Kassim to join Kedah PKR|author=Adam Abu Bakar |publisher=Berita Harian|date=7 July 2018|accessdate=7 July 2018}} On 4 August 2019, Ismail joined BERSATU which was another PH component party.{{cite news|url=https://www.nst.com.my/news/politics/2019/08/510056/tambun-tulang-rep-confirms-joining-bersatu|title=Tambun Tulang rep confirms joining Bersatu|author= Kalbana Perimbanayagam|publisher=New Straits Times|date=4 August 2019|accessdate=5 August 2019}}{{cite news|url=https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/486664|title=Shahidan's brother Ismail joins Bersatu|publisher=Malaysiakini|date=4 August 2019|accessdate=5 August 2019}}
On 16 May 2020, he left BERSATU and rejoined UMNO.{{Cite web|title=Adik Shahidan Kassim kembali kepada UMNO|url=https://www.bharian.com.my/berita/politik/2020/05/689414/adik-shahidan-kassim-kembali-kepada-umno|last=Rahman|first=Oleh Dziyaul Afnan Abdul|date=16 May 2020|website=BH Online|language=ms|access-date=16 May 2020}}
==2022 Perlis state election==
In the 2022 Perlis state election, Ismail was renominated by BN to defend the Tambun Tulang seat again. He lost the seat and was not reelected as the Tambun Tulang MLA for the third term after losing to Wan Zikri Afthar Ishak of PN by a minority of 2,485 votes.
Death
On 22 May 2023, Ismail died of a heart attack at the Selayang Hospital in Selayang, Gombak, Selangor, at the age of 63.{{cite web|url=https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2023/05/22/ismail-kassim-shahidans-younger-brother-dies/|title=Ismail Kassim, Shahidan's younger brother, dies|website=Free Malaysia Today|date=22 May 2023|accessdate=23 May 2023}}
Election results
| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"
|+ Parliament of Malaysia{{Cite web | title = Malaysia General Election | work = undiinfo Malaysian Election Data | publisher = Malaysiakini | url = http://undi.info/# | accessdate = 4 February 2018}} Results only available from the 2004 election. !|Year !|Constituency !colspan=2|Candidate !|Votes !|Pct !colspan=2|Opponent(s) !|Votes !|Pct !|Ballots cast !|Majority !|Turnout |
| 1998
|rowspan=2|P003 Arau |{{Party shading/Barisan Nasional}} | |{{nowrap|Ismail Kassim}} (UMNO) |align="right" |11,541 |47.29% |{{Party shading/PAS}} | |{{nowrap|Hashim Jasin}} (PAS) |align="right" |12,864 |52.71% |24,749 |1,323 |70.27% |
| 2008
|{{Party shading/Barisan Nasional}} | |{{nowrap|Ismail Kassim}} (UMNO) |align="right" |16,451 |50.32% |{{Party shading/PAS}} | |align="right" |16,151 |49.41% |33,276 |300 |83.45% |
| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"
|+ Perlis State Legislative Assembly{{cite web|url=https://keputusan.spr.gov.my/|title=SEMAKAN KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM KE - 14|publisher=Election Commission of Malaysia|language=ms|accessdate=17 May 2018|archive-date=13 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200913134822/https://keputusan.spr.gov.my/|url-status=dead}} Percentage figures based on total turnout.{{cite web|url=https://election.thestar.com.my/|title=The Star Online GE14|work=The Star|accessdate=24 May 2018}} Percentage figures based on total turnout. !|Year !|Constituency !colspan=2|Candidate !|Votes !|Pct !colspan=2|Opponent(s) !|Votes !|Pct !|Ballots cast !|Majority !|Turnout |
| 2013
|rowspan=6|N12 Tambun Tulang |{{Party shading/Barisan Nasional}} | |{{nowrap|Ismail Kassim}} (UMNO) |align="right" |5,286 |65.20% |{{Party shading/Keadilan}} | |Azhar Ameir (PKR) |align="right" |2,805 |34.60% |8,260 |2,481 |87.65% |
| rowspan=2|2018
| rowspan=2 {{Party shading/Barisan Nasional}} | | rowspan=2|{{nowrap|Ismail Kassim}} (UMNO) | rowspan=2 align="right" |4,005 | rowspan=2|38.00% |{{Party shading/Keadilan}} | |Maton Din (PKR) |align="right" |2,825 |26.80% | rowspan=2|8,915 | rowspan=2|1,180 | rowspan=2|84.62% |
| {{Party shading/PAS}} |
|Abu Bakar Ali (PAS) |align="right" |1,910 |18.10% |
| rowspan=3|2022
| rowspan=3 {{Party shading/Barisan Nasional}} | | rowspan=3|{{nowrap|Ismail Kassim}} (UMNO) | rowspan=3 align="right" |2,971 | rowspan=3|29.23% |bgcolor={{Party color|Perikatan Nasional}} | |{{nowrap|Wan Zikri Afthar Ishak}} (BERSATU) | align="right" | 5,456 | 53.68% | rowspan=3|10,163 | rowspan=3|2,485 | rowspan=3|75.56% |
| {{Party shading/PH}} |
|Muhammad Syahmi Suhaimi (PKR) |align="right" |1,554 |15.29% |
| bgcolor={{Party color|Homeland Fighter's Party}} |
|Maton Din (PEJUANG) |align="right" |182 |align="right" |1.79% |
Honours
- {{Flag|Perlis}} :
- 50px Knight Commander of the Order of the Crown of Perlis (DPMP) – Dato' (2007){{cite web
|url=http://www.istiadat.gov.my/index.php/component/semakanlantikanskp/|title=SEMAKAN PENERIMA DARJAH KEBESARAN, BINTANG DAN PINGAT|publisher=Prime Minister's Department (Malaysia)|accessdate=18 December 2020}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Portal bar|Malaysia|Biography|Politics}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ismail, Kassim}}
Category:Malaysian politicians of Malay descent
Category:Former Malaysian United Indigenous Party politicians
Category:United Malays National Organisation politicians
Category:Independent politicians in Malaysia
Category:Members of the Dewan Negara