Mohd Syahir Che Sulaiman

Summary

Mohd Syahir bin Che Sulaiman (born 30 March 1983) is the PAS Member of Parliament for Bachok (P025), Kelantan, elected in the 2022 general election with a majority of 29,901 votes. A former corporate finance professional with a background at Shell Malaysia and Sime Darby, he serves concurrently as Political Secretary to PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang and as the party's Assistant Secretary-General. He is primarily associated with economic policy debates, federal-state fiscal relations, and PAS party communications.

Biography

Mohd Syahir bin Che Sulaiman (born 30 March 1983) is a Malaysian politician and economic analyst who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bachok (P025), Kelantan, since November 2022 [1]. He is a member of the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), a component party of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition [1]. He holds the positions of Political Secretary to PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang, Deputy Chairman of the PAS International Committee since 2019, and Assistant Secretary-General of PAS since 2020 [1]. Within PAS, he previously served as Youth Strategic Director from 2015 to 2019, Division Deputy Youth Chief of PAS Serdang from 2017 to 2019, and branch chief of PAS Bandar Tun Hussein Onn from 2011 to 2015 [1]. He received his secondary education at Izzuddin Shah School, Ipoh, Perak, and went on to complete a Bachelor of Economics with First Class Honours at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), followed by a Master's degree in Development Studies from the University of Malaya in 2017 [1]. Before entering politics full-time, he interned at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), worked as a management accountant at Shell Malaysia Exploration & Production in Sarawak, and later served as Senior Executive for Corporate Finance at Sime Darby, where he also held the role of Special Officer to the Group Chief Operating Officer [1]. He resigned from Sime Darby Property in July 2018 upon his appointment as Political Secretary to the PAS President [1]. In GE15 (November 2022), he made his electoral debut, winning the Bachok parliamentary seat with a majority of 29,901 votes under the PN banner [2]. He is listed as the sitting MP for P025 Bachok on the official Parliament of Malaysia members list [3].

Known for

Mohd Syahir is known within PAS as a close aide to party president Abdul Hadi Awang, serving as his Political Secretary, and as a party spokesman on economic affairs. He drew national attention in August 2023 when he participated in a televised economic debate with Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli, broadcast on TV1 and Astro Awani [4]. He is also a regular commentator on federal-state fiscal relations, particularly on the question of petroleum royalty payments to Kelantan and parliamentary constituency allocations [5].

Political positions

Mohd Syahir has consistently argued that Malaysia's economic development model should be grounded in its own national ideology and identity, rather than adopting external frameworks [6]. He has argued that Kelantan's economic situation is partly a result of federal resource allocation disparities, and has publicly called for petroleum royalties to be remitted directly to state governments in accordance with the Petroleum Development Act 1974 [5]. He has also raised concerns in the Dewan Rakyat about the government's strategy for elevating Malaysia among the world's largest economies as part of the Madani Economy Narrative [7]. On intra-coalition affairs, he has advocated for unity among PN component parties to avoid three-cornered contests that could benefit Pakatan Harapan [6]. He has also publicly defended PAS's internal decision-making processes as being based on syura (collective consultation) rather than popular vote [8].

Education

1. 1996–2000Attended Izzuddin Shah School, Ipoh, Perak for secondary education.⛓
2. 2001–2002Completed matriculation at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Matriculation Centre.⛓
3. 2002–2006Completed Bachelor of Economics at IIUM, graduating with First Class Honours. Received Rector's Award and Best Student Award from the Kulliyyah of Economics.⛓
4. 2013–2017Obtained a Master's degree in Development Studies from the University of Malaya (UM).⛓

Before politics

1. Post-2006Interned at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Kuala Lumpur, then began career as a management accountant at Shell Malaysia Exploration & Production (SMEP) in Sarawak.⛓
2. Pre-2018Served at Sime Darby as Senior Executive, Corporate Finance, and subsequently as Special Officer to the Group Chief Operating Officer. Also served at Sime Darby Property.⛓

Political career

1. 2011–2015Served as Branch Chief of PAS, Bandar Tun Hussein Onn.⛓
2. 2015–2019Served as Youth Strategic Director of PAS.⛓
3. 2017–2019Served as Division Deputy Youth Chief of PAS, Serdang.⛓
4. July 2018Appointed Political Secretary to PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang; resigned from Sime Darby Property to take up the role.⛓
5. 2019–presentAppointed Deputy Chairman of the PAS International Committee.⛓
6. 2020–presentAppointed Assistant Secretary-General of PAS.⛓
7. 19 November 2022Won the Bachok (P025) parliamentary seat in GE15 under the Perikatan Nasional banner, defeating candidates from BN, PH, GTA, and an independent by a majority of 29,901 votes.⛓
8. August 2023Participated in a nationally televised economic debate with Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli on TV1 and Astro Awani, representing the PN/PAS position on Malaysia's economic model.⛓

Election history

• 2022Bachok (P025)Won⛓

Perspectives on key issues

• GovernmentEconomy Minister Rafizi Ramli disputed Mohd Syahir's argument that Kelantan remains the poorest state due to federal neglect, countering his claims in a nationally televised debate in August 2023 (Harian Metro reported Rafizi rebutted the allegation that Kelantan was being sidelined by the federal government).⛓
• AffectedAccording to Bernama, the Siamese Bumiputera Malaysia Chambers of Commerce called on Mohd Syahir to publicly apologise to the Siamese community over remarks made during the August 2023 economic debate that were described as inaccurate and insensitive to the Buddhist faith, with a threat of a police report if he refused.⛓
• VerifiedFactsParlimen.gov.my lists Mohd Syahir bin Che Sulaiman as the sitting PN Member of Parliament for P025 Bachok. He won the seat in GE15 (November 2022) with a majority of 29,901 votes, according to Sinar Harian's election data.⛓