Staff Reporter: Alhaj Advocate Md. Shah Alam is primarily a renowned lawyer, though he is widely known as a wealthy businessman in the country.
He is one of Bangladesh’s leading industrialists and a successful entrepreneur. Approximately four thousand employees earn their livelihood at his established Matador Group. He has earned widespread acclaim for paying his employees on time.
He entered the business world in 1980 with the Matador Pen and, through tireless efforts, transformed the Matador Group of Industries into a well-established industrial conglomerate in the country. It is fair to say that he has achieved extraordinary success in business.
In Old Dhaka, he is known as Shah Alam Ukil (Shah Alam the Lawyer), a distinguished son of the area. He has a vast reputation in Old Dhaka for providing legal services and financial assistance to the poor and distressed. However, he was averse to publicity regarding his donations and stayed away from the media and news outlets.
He states, “To my knowledge, I have never wished ill upon the local residents or my relatives, only well-being. I ask all of you to pray for me and my children.”
He constructed the Rafiqul Islam Molla Madrasa and Mosque Complex at a cost of several crores of Taka. He also built the Borhanpur Jame Mosque in Hazaribagh in the Saudi style, the architecture of which is admired by all. Furthermore, he has donated according to his means to the Kazirbagh Mosque and Madrasa, Azim Uddin Huzur’s Orphanage, Matador Staff Quarter Mosque, and the Joy Sara Chowdhury Bari Mosque-Madrasa and Orphanage in Hajiganj, Chandpur. He has personally funded the construction of numerous mosques and madrasas in Kamrangirchar, Dhaka.
In addition to a mosque built in Habiganj district, he has provided financial grants to hundreds of madrasas, orphanages, and mosques across Bangladesh. Among his many contributions, he considers facilitating the Holy Hajj pilgrimage for underprivileged people to be the most significant. Moreover, he offers financial assistance to the children of his officers and employees and provides scholarships to meritorious students. Additionally, considering the plight of the poor and distressed, he established the Matador Hospital in the Hazaribagh area.
He has naturally navigated the struggles of life since the beginning of his career. He says, “All that I have done for people is visible; so how can I evaluate myself? The local community and the media personnel will be the ones to assess me.”
One of his sons is a professor and chairman of the Law Department at Dhaka University. Another son, Md. Jahangir Alam, serves as the president of a local school and mosque. His sons are also engaged in social work like him. They provide financial assistance to parents burdened with dowry obligations and stand by the poor, distressed, and hardworking people in every aspect.
It is the hope of the Muslim Ummah that benevolent and socially committed individuals like Shah Alam will emerge in every corner of Bangladesh, dedicating themselves to the welfare of the nation and its people.
