Shahidan Kassim

Who is Shahidan Kassim?

Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim is a Malaysian politician. He is a minister in the federal Cabinet of Najib Tun Razak and is a member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the seat of Arau, representing the United Malays National Organisation. He was the Chief Minister of the State of Perlis from 1995 to 2008.

Before becoming Chief Minister of Perlis, Shahidan was a member of the Federal Parliament for Arau from 1986 to 1995. 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.

He was elected to the Perlis State Legislative Assembly for the newly created seat of Tambun Tulang in the 1995 election. He immediately became Menteri Besar of Perlis, taking over from Hamid Pawanteh. His tenure as Menteri Besar came to an end in March 2008, when Md Isa Sabu, a fellow member of Barisan Nasional, was appointed to the post by Sultan Sirajuddin of Perlis. Md Isa was appointed after claiming the support of eight out of the 12 other Barisan Nasional members of the Perlis State Assembly to replace Shahidan. Shahidan left the Perlis executive council, sitting in the state assembly as a backbencher and criticising Md Isa's leadership.