PAS' Galas state assemblyperson Che Hashim Sulaima, who was suffering from colon cancer passed away this evening at Kuala Lumpur's Kampung Baru Baru Medical Centre after suffering a relapse.

NONE 48-year-old Che Hashim, who passed away at 4.30pm, was diagnosed with colon cancer last year and had gone to Guangzhou, China, for treatment.

According to the deceased’s aide Husin Embong, his remains were brought to Masjid Jamek Kampung Bahru, Kuala Lumpur late this afternoon.

Several top PAS leaders were seen paying their respects, including party deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa ( third from left in photo below, with Mahfuz, fourth ), and vice presidents Mahfuz Omar and Salahuddin Ayub.

Che Hashim will be buried in his hometown in Kampung Kerinting, Gua Musang after funeral rites have been administered, said Husin.         

adun galas passed away He added that Gua Musang residents are awaiting his remains at Gua Musang's Tengku Faiz Petra Mosque, where he will be buried at a nearby cemetary.

The deceased is survived by widows Che Bongsu Jusoh dan Aida Zahari, and 11 children, all of whom were at the Masjid Jamek Kampung Bahru today.

Treatment to no avail

In July, Che Hashim was admitted to the intensive care unit of the Perdana Specialist Hospital in Kota Bharu.

azlan This took place just three days after returning from China, where he underwent 10 days of chemotherapy at the First People’s Hospital Fu San in Beijing.

Prior to that he had spent three months at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur.

On Aug 8 Che Hashim had been made some recovery, and was allowed to return home said his personal aide Tuan Hassan Tuan Sulaiman.   

The assemblyperson confirmed he was suffering from cancer in May last year when he started coughing blood.

The last state assembly sitting he attended was in March. He had requested for a leave of absence during the June sitting.

Che Hashim won the Galas seat in Kelantan with a majority of 646 votes in the last general election, against incumbent Saufi Deraman of BN.

The state seat, which has 10,330 voters, consists of 65.4% Malay, 22.3% Chinese, 1.8% Indian and 10.5% others, mostly Orang Asli.

Galas, one of three state seats under the Gua Musang parliamentary constituency - long held by Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah - is considered a BN stronghold.

However, it fell to PAS in the 2008 general election with Chinese voters in Gua Musang town apparently swinging against Umno.