Wan Hisham bin Wan Salleh was a member of

Terengganu State Executive Council The Terengganu State Executive Council is the executive authority of the Government of Terengganu, Malaysia. The Council comprises the List of Menteris Besar of Terengganu, Menteri Besar, appointed by the Sultan of Terengganu, Sultan on the basi ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

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 The Monsoon Cup was a yacht race in Malaysia, held in the state of Terengganu. Overview The Monsoon Cup was an annual event on the Alpari World Match Racing Tour calendar. It was also widely considered as the most formidable leg of the Tour. As ...

in Duyong,

Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu) is a sultanate and States and federal territories of Malaysia, federal state of Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l-Iman (c ...

. In the Monsoon Cup, he has managed to bring big sponsors to Terengganu namely

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

, RICHARD MILLE, MasterCard,

Air Asia Capital A Berhad (), operating as AirAsia (stylised as ''airasia'') is a Malaysian multinational low-cost airline headquartered near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Established in 1993 and commencing operations in 1996, the airline is the largest in ...

, TM, ASTRO and

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

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 Peninsular Malaysia, historically known as Malaya and also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, is the western part of Malaysia that comprises the southern part of the Malay Peninsula on Mainland Southeast Asia and the nearby isla ...

cutting the time needed from 9 hours to 3 hours drive from

Kuala Terengganu Kuala Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay language, Terengganu Malay: ''Kole Tranung''), colloquially referred to as KT, is the administrative, economic and royal List of capitals in Malaysia, city of the state of Terengganu, Malaysia. Kuala Tereng ...

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

, the capital of

. 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.

Early life and education

Wan Hisham bin Wan Salleh was born at

Kemaman Kemaman (Terengganu Malay: ''Kemamang'' or ''Mamang'') is a district in Terengganu, Malaysia. Kemaman District is bordered by Dungun District to the north and the state of Pahang to the south and west. It is the southern gateway to the state of Te ...

Federation of Malaya Malaya, officially the Federation of Malaya, was a country in Southeast Asia from 1948 to 1963. It succeeded the Malayan Union and, before that, British Malaya. It comprised eleven states – nine Malay states and two of the Straits Settleme ...

(now

) on 16 May 1956. His younger brother, Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh was the 11th

Chief Justice of Malaysia The chief justice of Malaysia ( Malay: ''Ketua Hakim Negara Malaysia''; Jawi: ), also known as the chief justice of the Federal Court, is the office and title of the head of the Malaysian judiciary system. The title has been in use since 19 ...

since July 2025. He received his early education at the Sultan Sulaiman 1 Primary School,

and

Sekolah Dato' Abdul Razak Sekolah Dato' Abdul Razak (; abbreviated SDAR) is a premiere, Sekolah Berasrama Penuh () for boys in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. It is one of the most prestigious schools in Malaysia, selecting the best students in the country and is n ...

Seremban Seremban (Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Somban'') is a city in the Seremban District and the capital of the state of Negeri Sembilan in Peninsular Malaysia. The city's administration is run by the Seremban Municipal Council, Seremban City Council. ...

Negeri Sembilan Negeri Sembilan (, Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Nogoghi Sombilan'', ''Nismilan''), historically spelled as Negri Sembilan, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia which lies on the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, wes ...

, before further his studies at the

United World College of South East Asia The United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA) is an independent international school in Singapore. It is a member of the United World College (UWC) movement, which includes 18 schools worldwide. UWCSEA provides a K–12 education consi ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

(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. He later received his

Bachelor of Economics A Bachelor of Economics (BEc or BEcon)Bureau of Labor StatisticsHow to Become an Economist/ref> is an academic degree, awarded to students who have completed specialised undergraduate studies in economics. Variants include the "Bachelor of Econo ...

(BEc) from the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

(1976–1979). He also have his

Master of Economics The Master of Economics (MEcon or MEc) is a postgraduate master's degree in economics comprising training in economic theory, econometrics, and/or applied economics. The degree is also offered as an MS or MSc, MA or MCom in economics; var ...

(MEc) from the

Universiti Putra Malaysia University of Putra Malaysia ( Malay: ''Universiti Putra Malaysia''), abbreviated as UPM, is a Malaysian public research university located in Serdang, Selangor. Formerly it was named Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (Agricultural University of ...

(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 Barisan Nasional (BN; ) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1974 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties to succeed the Alliance Party. It is the third largest political coalition with 30 seats in ...

win 28 out of 32 seats in

seeing the

taking over the State Government from the previous ruling party, PAS. He was then appointed by the

Menteri Besar head of government, Heads of government in Malaysia's many states of Malaysia, states take on various titles. Seven out of nine in the Peninsular Malaysia, Peninsular who each have Monarchies of Malaysia, historical monarchs are known as the Men ...

Idris Jusoh Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Haji Idris bin Jusoh ( Jawi: إدريس بن جوسوه; born 15 November 1955) is a Malaysian politician who served as Chairman of the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) from May 2020 to June 2023, the Ministe ...

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 The United Malays National Organisation ( abbrev: UMNO; , PEKEMBAR) is a conservative, Malay nationalist political party in Malaysia. As the oldest national political party in the country (since its inception in 1946), UMNO has been known as ...

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 Scuba diving is a Diving mode, mode of underwater diving whereby divers use Scuba set, breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scub ...

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

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* : ** Member of the

Order of the Defender of the Realm The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm () is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace of God-Defender of the Realm). The o ...

(AMN) (2001) * : ** MY-TER Order of the Crown of Terengganu - Dato Paduka - DPMT

Knight Commander of the

Order of the Crown of Terengganu The Most Distinguished Order of the Crown of Terengganu (Bahasa Melayu: ''Darjah Kebesaran Mahkota Terengganu Yang Amat Mulia'') is an honorific order of the Sultanate of Terengganu. History It was founded by Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin of Terengg ...

(DPMT) – Dato' (2006) ** MY-TER Order of the Crown of Terengganu - SPMT - SMT - AMT

Companion of the

(SMT) ** Recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal (PJK) * : ** MY-PEN Order of the Defender of State - Member - DJN

Member of the

Order of the Defender of State The Order of the Defender of State () is the sole order of chivalry of the state of Penang which was constituted in 1967 by then Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Dato' Seri Utama Raja Uda Raja Muhammad to recognize eminent contributions of individuals t ...

(DJN)

References

External links

Terengganu official website

Mo,sooncup.com

Umno-terrenganu.net

Worldmatchracingtour.com

Bernama.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wan Hisham 1956 births Living people Malaysian politicians of Malay descent Malaysian businesspeople Alumni of the University of East Anglia Malaysian Muslims United Malays National Organisation politicians Members of the Order of the Defender of the Realm Members of the Terengganu State Legislative Assembly Terengganu state executive councillors People educated at a United World College