KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim has made a surprise return to Malaysian Athletics (MA), less than a month after opting not to seek re-election as president.
He has now been appointed as the honorary life president of the national athletics governing body, effective immediately.
The announcement was made by current MA President Datuk Karim Ibrahim at a press conference following the MA Council Meeting held at the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) building today.
“After our recent AGM, we proceeded with this appointment. It’s a different scenario now, where former MA president Shahidan was also present, and everyone came together with one shared goal – to make athletics the top sport in all areas, from competition and training to regional and international participation,” said Karim.
“With that, the entire council today agreed to appoint Shahidan as the honorary life president of MA,” he added.
Shahidan previously led MA from 2006 to 2012 before returning a decade later to serve as president from 2022 to 2025.
He becomes only the second individual to be bestowed the honorary life president title, following former Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria, who received the same honour from BAM in November last year.
Karim also announced the formation of a new working committee within MA, made up of former athletes, to drive the sport’s development.
The committee includes Datuk Zaiton Othman, G. Shanti, Roslinda Samsu, Zaidatul Husna Zulkifli, and Datuk Seri Harjeet Singh, as well as Datuk Salim Parlan and Mej Jen Datuk Padman K.P. Bhaskaran.
“They will work alongside selected individuals, or we may adopt a different approach – such as a think tank with athletes. Former athletes understand best what current athletes need. That is our starting point,” Karim said.
“We must look at this from multiple perspectives, whether it’s training, motivation, athlete engagement, or involving parents. All of these aspects must come together. This is the direction we are taking, in line with World Athletics’ safeguarding procedures,” he added. — July 10, 2025