KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 21 ― The work of deceased intellectual Kassim Ahmad must go beyond academic recognition but immortalised in the perpetual discourse of nation-building, former cultural minister Tan Sri Rais Yatim said today.

Speaking at the launch of the autobiography, Kassim Ahmad The Rebel, Rais called on universities to study, analyse and incorporate Kassim’s work into the relevant disciplines.

The former minister described the Kedah-born writer’s work, like Hikayat Hang Tuah, as revolutionary and intellectually critical.

"Recognition of his work alone is insufficient,” Rais said at the book launch at Universiti Malaya’s Faculty of Literature, Kassim’s former alumni.

"We must excavate and analyse many of his works, which were rich with critical thoughts.”

Kassim, the son of a farmer, started out as a left wing student activist having identified himself as a man and defender of the "marhaen” or commoner.

Critical of the government at the time, he was arrested and detained under the Internal Security Act for five years beginning 1976 for allegedly supporting socialist-communist movement in Malaysia.

In one of his interviews with the press, he had described himself as "a man of many phases”. 

He became pro-government upon his release from ISA and joined Umno immediately after Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad became prime minister in 1981. The two had befriended each other in their varsity days.

In the "third phase” or towards the end of his life, Kassim devoted himself to studying the Quran. But his unorthodox and critical approach to the holy text and the poor understanding of his intellectual work had led to accusations that he was a deviant.

He made enemies among the country’s conservative clerics, but was considered a champion of progressive thinking among both liberal and socialist-leaning Malay-Muslims.

Much of his life and work, including important factors that influence his thinking about Islam and the Quran, are detailed in the 250 paged-autobiography.

Rais said the book will give an enriching experience for those who follow Kassim’s work, old or new.

"What he was known for was his critical thoughts,” he said.

"And this book will make you understand them..he was always a man who sought for what he called the balance of power and he was an ardent believer of man’s inalienable rights.”