Shahidan Kassim

Shahidan was born in Tambun Tulang on 17 June 1951. He went to Sekolah Menengah Sultan Abdul Halim (popularly known as Jenan) and served as Head of Rumah Cendikia.

Shahidan was a Member of Parliament for Arau from 1986 to 1995.{{cite news|url=http://utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=PR11&y=2004&dt=0326&pub=Utusan_Express&sec=Front_Page&pg=fp_01.htm|title=Shahidan becomes longest serving Perlis Menteri Besar|date=26 March 2004|work=Utusan|publisher=Utusan Group|access-date=1 February 2010}}

He was elected to the Perlis State Legislative Assembly for the newly created seat of Tambun Tulang in the 1995 general elections.{{cite news|url=http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/state_news/news.php?id=320072&cat=nt|title=Poser Over Who Will Be New Perlis MB|date=11 March 2008|work=Berita Wilayah|publisher=Bernama|access-date=31 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604033556/http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/state_news/news.php?id=320072&cat=nt|archive-date=4 June 2011|url-status=live}} He immediately became Chief Minister of Perlis, taking over from Hamid Pawanteh.{{cite news|url=http://thestar.com.my/columnists/story.asp?file=/2008/1/6/columnists/joceline/19913476&sec=Joceline|title=Too many Umno 'tigers' on a hillock|last=Tan|first=Joceline|date=6 January 2008|work=The Star|publisher=Star Publications (Malaysia)|access-date=31 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604033626/http://thestar.com.my/columnists/story.asp?file=%2F2008%2F1%2F6%2Fcolumnists%2Fjoceline%2F19913476&sec=Joceline|archive-date=4 June 2011|url-status=live}} His tenure as Chief Minister came to an end in March 2008, when Md Isa Sabu, a fellow member of Barisan Nasional, was appointed to the post by Raja Sirajuddin of Perlis after a general election in which UMNO retained its majority in the State Assembly. Md Isa claimed the support of eight out of the 12 other Barisan Nasional members of the Perlis State Assembly to replace Shahidan.{{cite news|url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/3/18/nation/20676879&sec=nation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521102110/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2008%2F3%2F18%2Fnation%2F20676879&sec=nation|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 May 2011|title=Isa sworn in as Perlis MB, Shahidan absent|last=Kaur|first=Manjit|date=18 March 2008|work=The Star|publisher=Star Publications (Malaysia)|access-date=3 February 2010}} While Shahidan had the nomination of the Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi, and the state party machinery, the Raja was concerned about the stability of the state government should Shahidan, a powerful but divisive factional figure in UMNO, be reappointed. The Raja insisted upon appointing Md Isa instead, exercising his constitutional discretion to prevail over the wishes of Abdullah and UMNO.{{cite journal|last=Abdul Hamid|first=Ahmad Fauzi|author2=Muhamad Takiyuddin Ismail|year=2012|title=The Monarchy and Party Politics in Malaysia in the Era of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (2003–09): The Resurgence of the Role of Protector|journal=Asian Survey|volume=52|issue=5|page=934|issn=0004-4687|doi=10.1525/as.2012.52.5.924}} Shahidan left the Perlis Executive Council (a body akin to a Cabinet), sitting out the 2008–13 State Assembly term as a backbencher and criticising Md Isa's leadership.{{cite news|url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/2/13/nation/8058076&sec=nation|title=Ex-MB slams current Perlis MB over slight|date=13 February 2011|work=The Star|access-date=12 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110213184924/http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2011%2F2%2F13%2Fnation%2F8058076&sec=nation|archive-date=13 February 2011|url-status=live}}

In the 2013 general elections, Shahidan returned to federal Parliament in the seat of Arau, switching seats with his brother Ismail Kassim, who had held Arau since 2008. Shahidan defeated the senior Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) leader Haron Din by 1,371 votes. Despite his return to federal politics, Shahidan had stated before the election that his preference would have been to remain in the State Assembly.{{cite news|url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2013/3/22/nation/12854071&sec=nation|title=GE13: Shahidan: There is still a lot I can do for Perlis|last=Mazwin Nik Anis|date=22 March 2013|work=The Star|access-date=11 May 2013}} After the election, he was appointed to the cabinet of Najib Razak as a Minister in the Prime Minister's Department.{{cite news|url=http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v7/ge/newsgeneral.php?id=950290|title=Cabinet Has Right Mix – Shahidan Kassim|date=16 May 2013|work=Bernama|access-date=17 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112100443/http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v7/ge/newsgeneral.php?id=950290|archive-date=12 November 2014|url-status=live}} In 2018 general election, he was reelected as the Arau MP while he was removed from the Cabinet and government following victory of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) opposition coalition in the election, the government was taken over by the new coalition after more than six decades when BN remained in power. The PH government collapsed in February 2020, a new coalition, namely Perikatan Nasional (PN), took over the government in March 2020. On 9 March 2021, Minister of Housing and Local Government Zuraida Kamaruddin announced his appointments as both Chairman of Perbadanan Perumahan Rakyat 1Malaysia (PR1MA) and Chairman of the National Housing Corporation (NHC) with immediate effect. On 24 April 2021, he was removed from the position of the State Chairman of Perlis of UMNO by party President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and being replaced by Azlan Man, who is also the Menteri Besar of Perlis.

According to Joceline Tan, columnist for The Star, Shahidan has a "larger-than-life personality" and is known for his "warlord style of politics". He has held numerous positions in sports administration, including the presidencies of the Malaysia Athletic Federation, the Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia and the Perlis Football Association.{{cite news|url=http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2006/10/1/sports/15599036&sec=sports|title=Shahidan the new boss for MAAU|last=Singh|first=Aftar|date=1 October 2006|work=The Star|publisher=Star Publications (Malaysia)|access-date=3 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604042751/http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=%2F2006%2F10%2F1%2Fsports%2F15599036&sec=sports|archive-date=4 June 2011|url-status=live}} In 2010, he called for Facebook to be banned in Malaysia, citing national security issues after a Facebook account holder was found to have insulted Islam and the current as well as the former Prime Ministers of Malaysia.{{cite news|url=http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/shahidan-wants-facebook-banned-cites-national-security/|title=Shahidan wants Facebook banned, cites national security|date=6 December 2010|access-date=7 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101208181745/http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/shahidan-wants-facebook-banned-cites-national-security|archive-date=8 December 2010|url-status=dead}}

In 1992, he received international coverage for his criticism of what he cited as the criminal acts of Sultan Iskandar of Johor and his son Tunku Ibrahim Ismail.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/15/news/15iht-mayl.html?pagewanted=1 |title=Malaysia Prepares To Strip Sultans of Their Immunity |last=Richardson |first=Michael |date=15 December 1992 |work=New York Times |access-date=31 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420100646/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/15/news/15iht-mayl.html?pagewanted=1 |archive-date=20 April 2010 }}

Shahidan is a leading proponent of Salafism—a puritanical Sunni Islamic movement opposed by Malaysia's religious establishment—within UMNO. In 2010 he arranged for a group of young Salafi clerics, including Fathul Bari Mat Jahya, to join UMNO to boost the party's standing with conservative Muslim voters.{{cite journal|last=Mohamed Nawab Mohamed Osman|date=August 2014|title=Salafi Ulama in UMNO: Political Convergence or Expediency?|journal=Contemporary Southeast Asia|volume=36|issue=2|url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-381587197/salafi-ulama-in-umno-political-convergence-or-expediency|url-access=subscription|access-date=11 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111102219/https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-381587197/salafi-ulama-in-umno-political-convergence-or-expediency|archive-date=11 November 2014|url-status=live}} While Chief Minister of Perlis, his government passed anti-apostasy laws in the State Assembly and sought to loosen restrictions on polygamy in the state.{{cite journal|last=Hamayotsu|first=Kikue|year=2012|title=Once a Muslim, always a Muslim: the politics of state enforcement of Syariah in contemporary Malaysia|journal=South East Asia Research|volume=20|issue=3|pages=409–413|issn=0967-828X|doi=10.5367/sear.2012.0114|s2cid=146836035}}

In 2017, Shahidan declared that "atheism is against the Constitution and the basic human rights" in Malaysia since "there is no provision on atheism" in the Constitution. Shahidan wanted atheists and atheist groups like the Kuala Lumpur chapter of Atheist Republic to be identified and hunted down. He also stated that "we need to restore the faith back in them, especially for Muslims. Actually they don't really want to be an atheist, but they lack knowledge about religion and that is why they are easily swayed to the new age teaching".{{cite web|title=Minister urges govt to hunt down atheist group|url=http://www.thesundaily.my/news/2017/08/08/minister-urges-govt-hunt-down-atheist-group|work=The Sun (Malaysia)|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817055846/http://www.thesundaily.my/news/2017/08/08/minister-urges-govt-hunt-down-atheist-group|archive-date=17 August 2017|url-status=live}}

On 20 October 2018, a police report was made by a teenage girl, 15, alleged that Shahidan had molested her but the report was withdrawn by the victim's family on the same day. It was speculated that the family has taken the decision due to bribery.{{cite news|url=https://www.malaymail.com/s/1687965/mp-accused-of-molesting-teen-claims-misunderstood|title=MP accused of molesting teen claims 'misunderstood'|first= Zurairi |last= AR |date=30 October 2018|publisher=Malay Mail|access-date=13 November 2018}} The victim from Arau, Perlis, wrote in her police report that she was told by her teacher that the former minister had wanted to see her after he saw her perform with a band at Stadium Tuanku Syed Putra. The secondary school student had been performing with a group, Kumpulan Aukustika on 7 @ DSSK Busker. According to her, when she went to the Shahidan's car, he invited her to play in Kuala Lumpur and offered her an RM4,000 fee. She alleged that during the discussion, he held her hand and caressed her shoulder without her consent. The student said she immediately ran out crying of the car.{{cite news|url=https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2018/10/30/mp-was-with-teen-in-car-for-a-chat-say-police/|title=MP was with teen in car for a chat, say police |author=Predeep Nambiar|date=30 October 2018 |publisher=Free Malaysia Today|access-date=1 November 2018}} After full police investigation, Shahidan was charged with molesting the underage girl at the Sessions Court, Kangar on 12 November 2018.{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/11/12/shahidan-arrives-at-court-to-face-charges-for-allegedly-molesting-underaged-girl/ |title=Shahidan charged with molesting underage girl at Kangar stadium (updated)|last= Tan|first= G C |date=12 November 2018|work=The Star|publisher=Star Publications (Malaysia)|access-date=13 November 2018}} On 24 April 2019, Shahidan was given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal by the Kangar Sessions Court for the allegation of molesting of an underage girl after the victim retracted her report.{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/04/24/shahidan-kassim-freed-of-molest-charges/|title=Shahidan Kassim freed of molest charges|author= R. Sekaran |date=24 April 2019|work=The Star|publisher=Star Publications (Malaysia)|access-date=24 April 2019}} In 2021, Shahidan's initial selection for the women, children and social development affairs Parliamentary Special Select Committee (SSC) had to be rescinded and replaced by another MP after his appointment was widely condemned and objected as he is claimed being 'tainted' with his child molestation case in 2019.{{cite news|url=https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/01/14/previously-charged-with-molest-shahidans-inclusion-in-select-committee-on-w/1940274|title=Previously charged with molest, Shahidan's inclusion in select committee on women, children's affairs slammed|date=14 January 2021|publisher=Malay Mail|access-date=15 January 2021}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2021/01/657435/shahidans-appointment-ssc-criticised|title=Shahidan's appointment to SSC criticised|date=14 January 2021|publisher=New Straits Times|access-date=15 January 2021}}{{cite news|url=https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/01/14/ngos-lawyer-object-to-shahidan-kassims-appointment-into-parliamentary-selec/1940438|title=NGOs, lawyer object to Shahidan Kassim's appointment into parliamentary select committee on women, children's affairs citing track record|date=14 January 2021|publisher=Malay Mail|access-date=15 January 2021}}{{cite news|url=https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/558973|title=Parit MP to replace Shahidan on PSC women's committee|date=14 January 2021|publisher=Malaysiakini|access-date=15 January 2021}}

• {{flag|Malaysia}} :
• 50px Recipient of the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong Installation Medal (2024)
• {{Flag|Perlis}} :
• 50px Member of the Order of the Crown of Perlis (AMP) (1980){{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAROAAAAIBAJ&dq=Perlis+Awards+List&pg=PA7&article_id=6552,1930572|title=Raja of Perlis honours 86 on birthday|publisher=New Straits Times|date=9 December 1980}}
• 50px Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Perlis (SPMP) – Dato' Seri (1995){{cite news|url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19951204-1.2.36.9|title=Perlis Raja gives top award to Mahathir|work=The Straits Times|date=4 December 1995|pages=27}}
• {{Flag|Pahang}} :
• 50px Grand Knight of the Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang (SSAP) – Dato' Sri (2002)

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Category:1951 births

Category:Living people

Category:Malaysian politicians of Malay descent

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Category:Former United Malays National Organisation politicians

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Category:Government ministers of Malaysia

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Category:Malaysian MPs 2022–

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Category:Persecution of atheists

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