KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 ― Following his death this morning, Kassim Ahmad was hailed in tributes by fellow Malaysians as a brave Muslim thinker who had fought for intellectual freedom.
Social activist Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, who had posted bail for Kassim after he was charged by Shariah prosecutors, lauded his bravery in the face of adversity.
“Alfatihah for Pak Kassim. A brave man who fought always for what he believed in. May his soul always be blessed by the Most Compassionate and Merciful,” the daughter of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said in a Facebook post.
Dr Mahathir also penned a blog post today to say he was deeply saddened, defending Kassim as a friend and similarly lauded his bravery and principles.
Former minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, who had also attended court proceedings to show support for Kassim's years of legal battles against the religious authorities' arrest and prosecution, called the octogenarian “one true Malay intellectual, with conviction and grit so few have”.
“They harassed him and malign him,” he said on Twitter.
“I m on the way to Kulim; to offer condolence and respect to this good Muslim , who all his life had wanted Muslims to be compassionate,” the former Umno man who is now a DAP member added.
DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang wrote on Twitter that he was saddened by the passing of an “intellectual giant”, while his PKR colleague and Pakatan Harapan secretary Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah called Kassim a “brave public intellectual”.
DAP lawmaker Kasthuri Patto wrote on Twitter: “Rest in peace Pak Kassim Ahmad. You are proof that ideas & thoughts cannot be chained. A towering Malaysian who spoke fearlessly. Al Fatihah.”
Blogger Din Merican, a fellow Kedah native, described his friend Kassim as a “man of integrity and courage who spoke the truth to power” but who was allegedly “persecuted” by local religious authorities for his views on Islam.
Noting that Kassim was educated at University of London's School of African and Oriental Studies and University of Malaya, he said it was “tragic that a man of such prodigious talent, intellectual verve, and deep convictions was not appreciated by our religious establishment (Jakim) and Umno politicians.”
“They feared his ideas and views on Islam to the extent that they did not realise that Pak Kassim Ahmad was a lifelong member of Umno. As far as I am concerned, Pak Kassim Ahmad led an examined life of learning and deep contemplation,” he said in a blog post today.
Muslim advocacy group Sisters in Islam wrote on Twitter: “Our prayers are w. him & his family. His struggles for intellectual freedom will not be forgotten, Al-Fatihah.”
Maria Chin Abdullah, the leader of polls reform group Bersih 2.0, offered condolences to Kassim's family and wrote on Twitter that “Malaysia will always remember his critical thoughts.”
Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, a prominent activist and lawyers also said: “I remember him for his courage in facing the oppression and shameful treatment meted out to him. May he rest in peace.”
Some of the tributes were made in reference to Kassim's hard-fought freedom and ultimate recognition by the courts that the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department's (Jawi) cross-border arrest and prosecution against him was illegal and invalid.
Just about a month before he turned 84, Kassim was finally freed this August of three 2014 Shariah charges against him. Each charge was punishable with a maximum RM3,000 fine or maximum two-year jail, or both.
But shortly after his 84th birthday, Kassim was hospitalised for over a month before he slipped into a coma yesterday at the Kulim hospital in Kedah.
Kassim is expected to be buried today.
