Updated on 9 Feb 2009 at 2.20pm
Corrected 1:18pm, 9 Feb 2009
Roslan Shaharun (source: Parlimen.gov.my);
“Perpaduan teras kejayaan” sign in Bukit Gantang (© esfairoz / flickr.com)
IPOH, 9 Feb 2009: The PAS Member of Parliament for Bukit Gantang in Perak, (corrected) Roslan Shaharum, passed away this morning, paving the way for a by-election in a state already rocked with a constitutional crisis and coup.
(Corrected) Roslan is believed to have died from a heart attack, his elder brother, Ahmad Najmi, said.
Ahmad Najmi said Roslan was waiting for his car to be washed at a petrol station in Batu Gajah when he reported feeling unwell and borrowed a bicycle to head to a nearby pharmacy.
After cycling for a few meters, Roslan fell to the ground and was brought to the Batu Gajah Hospital where he was declared dead, Ahmad Najmi told Bernama here.
The Bukit Gantang parliamentary seat includes the Changkat Jering state seat won by Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu who recently quit from the party to become an independent in support of the Barisan Nasional.
Roslan, 50, who was appointed Perak Foundation chairperson under the Pakatan Rakyat government last year, leaves behind a wife and 11 children.
A graduate of both Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Universiti Putra Malaysia, Roslan was a former lecturer at Universiti Teknologi Mara and the Open University Malaysia.
Lainie says
Let’s see some good candidates this time around.
PM says
My condolences to YAB Encik Roslan and his family.
Looks like Najib and BN cannot run away from the ballot box. Perhaps it is also God’s way to show the Sultan and all that when it comes to having a bona fide government, the rakyat should have a BIG say.
CMK says
Condolences to Roslan’s family. And poor Perak! When it rains, it sure pours …
Naysayer says
Some have said Encik Roslan’s passing was a form of divine retribution by the Almighty to create an opportunity for the rakyat to demonstrate their sentiment in a new by-election … a sort of wake-up call for those governing a country where even His good name is argued over as if we mere mortals really have any sort of claim over what He is called. Divine or not, a by-election would give voters a chance to show who they really want governing the state.