The PAS MP for Bukit Gantang Roslan Shaharum died of a heart attack on Monday morning, paving the way for yet another by-election.

The Star reported that :

BATU GAJAH: The PAS Member of Parliament for Bukit Gantang Roslan Shaharum died of a heart attack on Monday morning, paving the way for yet another by-election.

“Once we receive official notification of his death by the Dewan Rakyat Speaker (Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia), we will have a special meeting to discuss when to call for a by-election,” Election Commission chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Yusof said.

(Blogger's observation:Dewan Rakyat Speaker is a very important person. If he does not notify the Election Commission of the death or resignation of the MP, it will not call for a by-election. How about the Perak case?）

This would be the third by-election since the 12th general election on March 8 last year.

The first was in Permatang Pauh last year when its Member of Parliament Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Ismail stepped down to make way for her husband, now Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, to contest.

Anwar won the seat, which marked his return to Parliament after a decade.

The second was in Kuala Terenganu in January following the death of its MP Datuk Razali Ismail last Nov 28.

PAS candidate Mohd Abdul Wahid Endut won the seat, beating Barisan Nasional candidate Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh and independent Azharuddin Mamat @ Adam.

The Bukit Gantang constituency has three state assembly seats under it: Trong, Kuala Sapetang and Changkat Jering, whose assemblyman Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu quit PKR last week to become an independent.

His resignation, plus that of two other assemblymen and the defection of a third, paved the way for Barisan Nasional to wrest Perak from Pakatan Rakyat.

Meanwhile, according to family members and the police, the 50-year-old Roslan had sent his car to a car-wash near his home in Changkat Lallang near here when he complained of chest pains.

He borrowed a bicycle from one of the car-wash workers to go to the nearest pharmacy.

His body was found at a slip road by passersby at 11:15am, Batu Gajah OCPD ACP Najib Mohamad said.

Roslan, who leaves behind a wife and 11 children, was formerly the human resource director of Perak Economic Development Corporation.

Last July, he was named chairman of Perak’s education foundation, Yayasan Perak.

According to Roslan's daughter Fatimah, 21, the whole family had been in Cameron Highlands for a family outing over the weekend when her father received a call on Sunday evening.

He was summoned to a meeting at the home of former Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, who has refused Sultan Azlan Shah’s call for him to step down.

“He was there until 1.30 in the morning, and left home at 10am,” Fatimah said.

His wife Safiah Harun, 50, said Roslan had collapsed once about a month ago on an official visit to Taiwan because of a heart problem.

The funeral will be held at 6pm Monday at his village in Changkat Lallang, she said.

In the March 8 general election last year, Roslan had polled 20,015 votes against Abdul Azim Mohd Zabidi’s (Barisan Nasional) 18,449 votes.

The third candidate was an independent, M. Morgan, who got 872 votes


Profile of Roslan Shaharum

MP: Bukit Gantang

Full name: Roslan Shaharum
Party: PAS
Age: 49
Marital status: Married
Children: 10
Constituency: Bukit Gantang, Perak
Education: Master in Science (majored in Human Resource)
Profession: Former human resource director of Perak Economic Development Corporation

IN the three-corner fight for the Bukit Gantang parliamentary seat in Perak in the March 8 general election, Roslan Shaharum emerged victorious in what was essentially a two-party race.

Roslan of PAS polled 20,015 votes against Barisan Nasional man Abdul Azim Mohd Zabidi’s 18,449 votes. The third contestant – independent candidate M. Morgan – garnered a mere 872 votes.

How much time to do you spend on the computer?

Less than two hours a day. I also blog.

Do you play a musical instrument, dance or sing?

No.

What kind of music do you listen to?

Nasyid.

Are you into movies?

No.

What do you read?

Books on politics and psychology, as those were the subjects I studied for my first degree.

What was the last book you read?

It was a political book but I cannot recall the title.

Are you into English Premier League football?

No.

What’s your favourite sport?

Football.

What do you play?

Football.

Coffee or tea?

Any type of tea.

Do you smoke?

No.

What is the gadget you can’t do without?

Handphone.

What’s your favourite food?

Rendang.

You have a weakness for ...

Nothing in particular. I am a simple guy.

What car do you drive and how long have you had it?

Mercedes Benz E200 Compressor. It is more than six years old.

What is your contribution to environmental conservation?

I don’t litter.

Name an idol whom you look up to and why.

Tok Guru Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang and Datuk Dr Harun Din. I learnt a lot from them, in matters of religion, politics and Islamic medicine.