In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Hashim is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Mohd Nasir. The word "bin" or "binti"/"binte" means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.
Mohd Nasir completed his secondary education at Royal Military College. As a student he also pursued boxing and was also a chess champion.[1]
He obtained Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Biology from the Monmouth College, Master of Science (MSc) in Food Science and Technology and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in International Nutrition from the Cornell University.[2]
Political career
Mohd Nasir left the traditionally socialist Malaysian People's Socialist Party (Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia; PSRM) after its name reversion to PRM by the party's congress and the new leadership of Syed Husin Ali elected in 1989.[3]
He led a small dissident group to form Parti Sosialis Malaysia in 1998, although its registration was only approved in 2008 after a 10 year battle.[4]
He contested in three elections, winning the Kota Damansara Selangor state assembly seat in 2008, serving a single 5 year term.[5]
In 2019, after more than 20 years as party leader, he stepped down.[6]
Operation Lalang
Mohd Nasir was arrested and detained without trial under the Internal Security Act 1960 (ISA) for 15 months at the Kamunting Detention Centre during Operation Lalang, a government-sponsored crackdown that saw the arrest of many people, including activists, intellectuals and opposition politicians in 1987.[7][8]
