Many laud late Seri Setia rep
He believed in freedom of speech and urged students to do the same
KLANG: The late Prof Dr Shaharuddin Badaruddin (pic) was a staunch believer in the freedom of expression and ensured Universiti Selangor (Unisel) students were able to speak their minds.
Unisel corporate communications director Hasril Abu Hassan said Dr Shaharuddin, who was the university’s deputy vicechancellor and vicepresident, instructed that students must also be allowed to voice their dissatisfaction freely.
“He did not believe in stifling dissent and because of this, we set up a speakers’ corner at both our Shah Alam and Bestari Jaya cam puses,” said Hasril.
Dr Shaharuddin, 56, who was also the Seri Setia assemblyman, passed away on Thursday after battling colon cancer for almost three years.
Hasril said Dr Shaharuddin was wellliked and respected by Unisel students and staff because of his friendly nature.
“It was very easy to talk to him on just about anything and he would always make time to listen to anyone who came to him,” he said.
Born in Kuala Selangor on Sept 19, 1962, Dr Shaharuddin was a political scientist by training who pursued his postgraduate degree in SouthEast Asian Studies in Universiti Malaya (UM).
He then proceeded to study for a postgraduate degree in political science at the Roosevelt University in the United States in 1992 before following it up with a PhD in Islam and Democracy at UM.
Dr Shaharuddin lectured at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) for 28 years before leaving in 2013 to join Unisel in 2015.
Having been a member of the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim), it was a natural progression for him to enter politics.
He joined PKR and was a vicepresident at the time of his death.
Dr Shaharuddin resigned from Unisel in March to become a fulltime politician and contested the Seri Setia state seat in the last general election.
He received 29,250 votes in the 14th General Election, which gave him a 19,372vote majority.
He was appointed as a Selangor executive councillor and made the chairman of the Selangor Islamic Affairs, Education and Human Capital Development Committee.
He leaves behind his wife Adibah Ahmad and six children.
Dr Shaharuddin is the third Selangor assemblyman to have passed away since the May 9 elections.