KUALA LUMPUR: Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub has died. He was 61.
He died at Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Star, Kedah, after being placed in intensive care following a brain haemorrhage. He is survived by his wife, Datin Seri Fatimah Taha, and six children.
Salahuddin was born on Dec 1, 1961 in Pontian, Johor. He received his early education from Sekolah Rendah Inggeris Serkat in Pontian, and completed his secondary education at Sekolah Menengah Sri Perhentian.
After receiving Form Six education from Sekolah Menengah Dato' Penggawa Barat, Salahuddin continued his tertiary education at Tunku Abdul Rahman College, where he received a diploma in business administration.
In 1984, he furthered his studies in Human Development Science at Universiti Putra Malaysia.
Salahuddin had an illustrious political career. He went into politics full time after leaving the MUI Bank in 1980, where he was a financial officer.
He steadily climbed the ranks in Pas, first being elected as the Pontian Pas deputy chief in 1983, and was then the Pontian Pas Youth chief in 1987.
He also became the Johor Pas Youth chief in 1989, before ascending to the party's central leadership. Throughout 24 years, Salahuddin had held various positions, including Pas Youth information chief, Pas Youth chief, and Pas vice-president.
Salahuddin, on Pas ticket, also secured the Kubang Kerian Parliamentary seat for two terms in 2004 and 2008.
Despite years of dedication to the Islamist party, Salahuddin was among the many others who formed the splinter group Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) in 2015.
Together with PKR and DAP, Amanah formed Pakatan Harapan (PH), replacing the now-defunct Pakatan Rakyat.
In Amanah, Salahuddin was elected its deputy president, and was also appointed as PH deputy president in 2017.
A year later, he won the Simpang Jeram state seat and the Pulai Parliamentary seat as part of the coalition.
When PH formed the government in 2018, Salahuddin was appointed as agriculture and agro-Based industries minister.
The government collapsed after the so-called Sheraton Move in 2020, but when it regained power during the 15th General Election, Salahuddin was then entrusted with the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry.
His most notable achievement was introducing the 'Payung Rahmah' initiative, to reduce the cost of living for the lower-income group and the hardcore poor.
Payung Rahmah kicked off in February this year, with a host of programmes to make food, groceries, clothing, and even eyewear more affordable for the people.
In an exclusive interview with the New Straits Times, Salahuddin had said he was inspired by the spike in the number of his constituents who came knocking on his door for help. He was also determined to keep all Rahmah initiatives going for as long as possible.