Parit MP to replace Shahidan on PSC women's committee
Parit MP Mohd Nizar Zakaria will replace Arau MP Shahidan Kassim as a member on the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) for Women, Children and Social Development.
This was confirmed by Shahidan himself, who said that his position on the committee was temporary and there was no reason to continue as he was already sitting on other committees.
Parit MP Mohd Nizar Zakaria will replace Arau MP Shahidan Kassim as a government member on the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) for Women, Children and Social Development.
This was confirmed by Shahidan himself, who said that his position on the committee was temporary and there was no reason for him to continue as he was already sitting on other committees.
“I am already on two committees. What for too many?
"I was called for a meeting. I don’t know. They didn’t make the changes," he was quoted as saying by Malay Mail.
Shahidan, who is also the Perikatan Nasional Backbenchers' Club chief, came under scrutiny after his name was found to be on the list of members for the committee.
He was previously charged with molesting a teenager in his car in October 2018. The 15-year-old later withdrew her police report against the politician after her father said the matter had been “amicably resolved”.
Shahidan denied the charge and was given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal after the prosecution dropped the case when the girl declined to be questioned.
Due to this, he has come under fire from activists over his appointment to a committee for women and children's issues.
Earlier, about 91 civil society groups and individuals released a joint statement objecting to his appointment to the committee.
Speaking to Malaysiakini later, Shahidan responded to critics saying efforts to form the committee were not made by the activists, but by lawmakers, including himself.
"The forming of the committee was not done by the activists, but by the lawmakers.
"I was among lawmakers who formed the committee, nothing to do with activists," he said.
The Umno lawmaker explained that his participation was initially to fulfill the criteria that a party representative must be on the committee.
Shahidan said that, as the Arau MP, there were many women who voted for him.
"Although (Arau) does not have many activists, there are many women, and they all voted in the Arau constituency," he said.
The bipartisan, seven-member PSC had convened yesterday and elected Umno’s Pengerang MP Azalina Othman Said as its chairperson.
Other members include Rubiah Wang (GPS-Kota Samarahan), Che Alias Hamid (PAS-Kemaman), Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh (PAS-Pasir Puteh), Fuziah Salleh (PKR-Kuantan) and Alice Lau (DAP-Lanang).
Lau claimed that Shahidan's "party leader" had appointed him to the PSC.
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