Ismail Kassim

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Kassim is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Ismail.

Dato' 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.^[1][2] 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.

Yang Berbahagia Dato' Ismail Kassim DPMP
إسماعيل قاسم‎
Member of the Perlis State Legislative Assembly for Tambun Tulang
In office 5 May 2013 – 19 November 2022
Preceded by	Shahidan Kassim (BN–UMNO)
Succeeded by	Wan Zikri Afthar Ishak (PN–BERSATU)
Majority	2,481 (2013) 1,180 (2018)
Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Arau
In office 8 March 2008 – 5 May 2013
Preceded by	Syed Razlan Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail (BN–UMNO)
Succeeded by	Shahidan Kassim (BN–UMNO)
Majority	300 (2008)
Senator Appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong
In office 1999–2005
Monarchs	Salahuddin (1999–2001) Syed Sirajuddin (2001–2005)
Prime Minister	Mahathir Mohamad (1999–2003) Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (2003–2005)
Faction represented in Perlis State Legislative Assembly
2013–2018	Barisan Nasional
2018–2019	Independent
2019–2020	Pakatan Harapan
2020	Malaysian United Indigenous Party
2020–2022	Barisan Nasional
Faction represented in Dewan Rakyat
2008–2013	Barisan Nasional
Faction represented in Dewan Negara
1999–2005	Barisan Nasional
Personal details
Born	(1959-10-02)2 October 1959 Tambun Tulang, Perlis, Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia)
Died	22 May 2023(2023-05-22) (aged 63) Selayang, Gombak, Selangor, Malaysia
Political party	United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) (1987–2018, 2020–2023) Independent (2018–2019) Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU) (2019–2020)
Other political affiliations	Barisan Nasional (BN) (1987–2018, 2020–2023) Pakatan Harapan (PH) (2019–2020)
Relations	Shahidan Kassim (elder brother)
Occupation	Politician

Political career

Early in his political career, Ismail joined UMNO in 1987 at the age of 28.^[3]

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.^[4] 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. ^[5] 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.^[6]

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.^[7]

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.^[8][9][10]

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.^[11] 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.^[12] On 4 August 2019, Ismail joined BERSATU which was another PH component party.^[13][14] On 16 May 2020, he left BERSATU and rejoined UMNO.^[15]

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.^[16]

Election results

Parliament of Malaysia^[8][17]

Year	Constituency	Candidate		Votes	Pct	Opponent(s)		Votes	Pct	Ballots cast	Majority	Turnout
1998	P003 Arau		Ismail Kassim (UMNO)	11,541	47.29%		Hashim Jasin (PAS)	12,864	52.71%	24,749	1,323	70.27%
2008			Ismail Kassim (UMNO)	16,451	50.32%		Haron Din (PAS)	16,151	49.41%	33,276	300	83.45%

Perlis State Legislative Assembly^[17][18][19]

Year	Constituency	Candidate		Votes	Pct	Opponent(s)		Votes	Pct	Ballots cast	Majority	Turnout
2013	N12 Tambun Tulang		Ismail Kassim (UMNO)	5,286	65.20%		Azhar Ameir (PKR)	2,805	34.60%	8,260	2,481	87.65%
2018			Ismail Kassim (UMNO)	4,005	38.00%		Maton Din (PKR)	2,825	26.80%	8,915	1,180	84.62%
							Abu Bakar Ali (PAS)	1,910	18.10%
2022			Ismail Kassim (UMNO)	2,971	29.23%		Wan Zikri Afthar Ishak (BERSATU)	5,456	53.68%	10,163	2,485	75.56%
							Muhammad Syahmi Suhaimi (PKR)	1,554	15.29%
							Maton Din (PEJUANG)	182	1.79%

Honours

•  Perlis :
  • Knight Commander of the Order of the Crown of Perlis (DPMP) – Dato' (2007)^[20]

References

1. "Ismail bin Kasim, Y.B. Dato'". Parliament of Malaysia. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
2. "Ismail: Pas' confidence in Arau win mere political gimmick". New Straits Times. 28 February 2008. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
3. Shahrum Sayuthi (27 March 2001). "Main issue in Perlis is whether party is ready for new blood". New Straits Times. New Straits Times Press. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
4. "Arau defeat: Report ready". New Straits Times. New Straits Times Press. 13 July 1998. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
5. "UMNO Youth changes stance on allegation of nepotism, cronyism". New Straits Times. New Straits Times Press. 10 July 1998. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
6. Stewart, Ian (2003). The Mahathir Legacy: A Nation Divided, a Region at Risk. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. p. 74. ISBN 1-86508-977-X.
7. Kaur, Manjit (24 February 2008). "Two years for Shahidan?". The Star (Malaysia). Retrieved 20 December 2009.
8. "Malaysia Decides 2008". The Star (Malaysia). Archived from the original on 11 January 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
9. "Coalition repeats 2004 victory in Perlis". The Star (Malaysia). 9 March 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
10. "Malaysia Decides 2008 (2004 results)". The Star (Malaysia). Archived from the original on 21 August 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
11. Dziyaul Afnan Abdul Rahman (20 June 2018). "Ismail Kassim keluar UMNO". Berita Harian. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
12. Adam Abu Bakar (7 July 2018). "Perlis crisis figure Ismail Kassim to join Kedah PKR". Berita Harian. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
13. Kalbana Perimbanayagam (4 August 2019). "Tambun Tulang rep confirms joining Bersatu". New Straits Times. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
14. "Shahidan's brother Ismail joins Bersatu". Malaysiakini. 4 August 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
15. Rahman, Oleh Dziyaul Afnan Abdul (16 May 2020). "Adik Shahidan Kassim kembali kepada UMNO". BH Online (in Malay). Retrieved 16 May 2020.
16. "Ismail Kassim, Shahidan's younger brother, dies". Free Malaysia Today. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
17. "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2018. Results only available from the 2004 election.
18. "SEMAKAN KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM KE - 14" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
19. "The Star Online GE14". The Star. Retrieved 24 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
20. "SEMAKAN PENERIMA DARJAH KEBESARAN, BINTANG DAN PINGAT". Prime Minister's Department (Malaysia). Retrieved 18 December 2020.