Shahidan wanted by police for skipping court

KANGAR: A warrant of arrest has been issued against Arau MP Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim for failing to be present in court to face charges, believed to be related to the case where an underaged girl was allegedly molested by him recently.

But by noon, his lawyer Zuhair Ahmad Zakuan said that Shahidan was required to appear at the Sessions court here on Monday after a failed attempt to have the warrant of arrest revoked.

The arrest warrant was issued by Sessions Court judge Johari Abu Hassan earlier in the day after deputy public prosecutor Mohd Nordin Ismail applied for it.

Another lawyer of Shahidan’s, Syed Muhamad Anwar Syed Lokman Hakim had objected to the issuing of the arrest warrant citing that neither his client nor he had prior knowledge of the matter.

“I only got to know about this (warrant of arrest) in court. My client is out of the country,” said the lawyer of the former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in the courtroom.

Shahidan is believed to be in Mecca performing the Umrah after he posted on Facebook that he and his entourage would be going there on Nov 4.

Late last month, the Arau MP came forward to say that it was all a “misunderstanding”, after allegations emerged that a Perlis MP had sexually molested a 15-year-old girl.

Reading from a prepared text and accompanied by his lawyer Thalia Rohaina Abdul Latiff at the press conference held in Parliament, Shahidan said the misunderstanding stemmed from a meeting with a group of buskers to hand over some financial assistance.

He reportedly said he treated all the buskers “like his own children and family members”.

Bukit Aman recorded a statement from Shahidan, who is being investigated for allegedly molesting the teenager inside his car. It was reported that Shahidan’s statement would be managed by the Bukit Aman Sexual, Women and Child Investigations Division.

The case has been classified under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.

According to sources, the girl is a disabled person but it is not immediately clear whether her disability is physical or mental.

It is learnt that a report was made alleging that the victim, 15, was molested by the MP, but the report was subsequently withdrawn by the victim’s family.

The issue later went viral on social media, drawing attention from the public and the media.

Despite the withdrawal, police said investigations would go on, and that any understanding reach­ed between the victim’s family and the suspect was not related to the police.

Shahidan was the Perlis mentri besar from 1995 to 2008.