Wan Hisham

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Wan Salleh is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Hisham. The word "bin" or "binti"/"binte" means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.

Wan Hisham bin Wan Salleh was a member of Terengganu State Executive Council in Malaysia and holds the State Infrastructure Development, Public Service and Communication Committee portfolio. He is also the chairman of T-Best Events, a State Government owned company which organised the Monsoon Cup in Duyong, Terengganu. In the Monsoon Cup, he has managed to bring big sponsors to Terengganu namely BMW, RICHARD MILLE, MasterCard, Air Asia, TM, ASTRO and ESPN in supporting the event putting Terengganu on international TV. Apart from the Monsoon Cup success, he also had improved the state transportation system bringing East Coast Expressway connecting Terengganu to the west coast of Peninsula Malaysia cutting the time needed from 9 hours to 3 hours drive from Kuala Terengganu to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. He has also upgraded the airport, providing education programme for the suburban and elderly people on Information Technology, building free houses for the under poverty and recently has brought Terry Thoren to the state to start Animation Development Programme which is expecting to provide 4,000 work opportunities in the state every year in animation and 3D industry.

Yang Berbahagia Dato' Wan Hisham Wan Salleh DPMT SMT PJK DJN AMN
وان هشام وان صالح‎
Member of the Terengganu State Executive Council
Infrastructure Development, Public Service and Communication
In office 25 March 2004 – 8 April 2008
Monarch	Mizan Zainal Abidin
Menteri Besar	Idris Jusoh
Preceded by	Yahaya Ali
Succeeded by	Yahaya Khatib Mohamad (Infrastructure Development and Public Service) Khazan Che Mat (Communication)
Constituency	Ladang
Member of the Terengganu State Legislative Assembly for Ladang
In office 21 March 2004 – 5 May 2013
Preceded by	Sulaiman Abdullah (PAS)
Succeeded by	Tengku Hassan Tengku Omar (PAS)
Majority	1,041 (2004) 31 (2008)
Personal details
Born	Wan Hisham bin Wan Salleh (1956-05-16) 16 May 1956 (age 69) Kemaman, Terengganu, Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia)
Nationality	Malaysia
Political party	United Malays National Organisation (UMNO)
Other political affiliations	Barisan Nasional (BN)
Spouse	Wan Hasnah Wan Ismail
Relations	Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh (younger brother)
Children	4
Residence(s)	Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia
Education	Sekolah Dato' Abdul Razak United World College of South East Asia
Alma mater	University of East Anglia (BEc) University of Putra Malaysia (MEc)
Occupation	Businessman, politician

Early life and education

Wan Hisham bin Wan Salleh was born at Kemaman, Terengganu, Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) on 16 May 1956. His younger brother, Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh was the 11th Chief Justice of Malaysia since July 2025. He received his early education at the Sultan Sulaiman 1 Primary School, Kuala Terengganu and Sekolah Dato' Abdul Razak, Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, before further his studies at the United World College of South East Asia, Singapore (1974–1976). When he was in United World College of South East Asia, he was awarded the 1st Class Ambassador Award for his all round achievement during his study.^{[citation needed]} He later received his Bachelor of Economics (BEc) from the University of East Anglia (1976–1979). He also have his Master of Economics (MEc) from the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).

Political career

Dato' Wan Hisham won the Ladang State Assembly Seat in General Election in 2004 defeating Dr. Sulaiman from the opposition party of PAS allowing Barisan Nasional win 28 out of 32 seats in Terengganu seeing the Barisan Nasional taking over the State Government from the previous ruling party, PAS. He was then appointed by the Menteri Besar Idris Jusoh to join the State Executive Council holding the State Infrastructure Development, Public Service and Communication Committee portfolio due to his academic qualification and his vast experience in construction business. He was also then elected as the UMNO Treasurer for the state. However, he lost his seat in the 12th Malaysian General Election with a majority of 31 votes.

Other activities

As part of his interest in Scuba diving and holding PADI Advanced Open Diver licence, Dato' Wan Hisham is the current Advisor of Malaysian Coral Preservation Society (CoRal Malaysia) and Sahabat Alam (SELAM) which are currently the leading societies in preserving corals and maritime lives in Malaysia. Under his wing, CoRal Malaysia held 3 Malaysian Book of Record for underwater achievement namely The First Underwater Gallery in Pulau Bidong, Terengganu, The Biggest Underwater Painting in Pulau Kapas, Terengganu and The Biggest Underwater Flag Hoisting in Pulau Perhentian, Terengganu.

Election results

Terengganu State Legislative Assembly^[1][2]

Year	Constituency	Candidate		Votes	Pct	Opponent(s)		Votes	Pct	Ballots cast	Majority	Turnout
2004	N15 Ladang		Wan Hisham Wan Salleh (UMNO)	6,981	54.03%		Sulaiman Abdullah (PAS)	5,940	45.97%	13,080	1,041	83.44%
2008			Wan Hisham Wan Salleh (UMNO)	6,692	50.12%		Tengku Hassan Tengku Omar (PAS)	6,723	49.88%	13,701	31	81.67%

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

• Malaysia:
  • Member of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (AMN) (2001)^[3]
• Terengganu:
  • Knight Commander of the Order of the Crown of Terengganu (DPMT) – Dato' (2006)
  • Companion of the Order of the Crown of Terengganu (SMT)
  • Recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal (PJK)
• Penang:
  • Member of the Order of the Defender of State (DJN)