Kuala Lumpur - Umno founder Datuk Onn Jaafar has been announced as the ‘Tokoh Anak Gemilang Malaysia‘.
The decision was announced by the head of the jury panel, Tan Sri Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid after 10 lobbyists presented their respective cases in a programme lasting two-and-a-half hours and broadcast live by Astro and Radio Television Malaysia (RTM).
Datuk Onn Jaafar was among the 10 candidates selected in the fields of politics, sports, the arts, culture and trade unions who were shortlisted for the programme in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the country‘s independence.
The other candidates were two former prime ministers Tun Abdul Razak Hussein and Tun Hussein Onn, footballer Mokhtar Dahari, actor Tan Sri P.Ramlee, social worker and unionist Dr P.P. Narayanan, economist Raja Tun Mohar Raja Badiozaman.
Singer Sudirman Haji Arshad, politician Tun Tan Cheng Lock and literary and cultural activist Zainal Abidin Ahmad or Za‘aba. All of them have died.
The first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra was not listed because as the ‘Father of Independence‘, he was in a class of his own.
The programme was in the form of a debate where each member of the panel discussed the personality and credibility of each of the candidate who was the most eligible to receive the ‘Anak Gemilang Malaysia‘ award.
The panel members comprised Prof Madya Dr. Adnan Nawang (Zaaba), Prof Datuk Dr Ramlah Adam (Datuk Onn Jaafar), Freddie Fernandez (Sudirman Hj Arshad), Tan Sri G.K. Rama Iyer (YM Raja Tun Mohar Raja Badiozaman) and Lazarus Rokk (Mokhtar Dahari).
Other members of the panel were Dr Anuar Nor Arai (Tan Sri P.Ramlee), Mohamed Shafi BP Mammal (Dr P.P. Narayanan), Ch‘ng Kim See (Tun Tan Cheng Lock), Datuk Paddy Bowie Schubert (Tun Hussein Onn) and Tan Sri Chong Hon Nyan (Tun Abdul Razak Hussein).
The winner received prizes in the form of a pewter trophy and RM30,000 in cash.
Prof Datuk Dr Ramlah, who represented the family of Datuk Onn, received the prizes from Ahmad Sarji shortly after the result was announced.
The ‘Anak Gemilang Malaysia‘ programme tonight also included the singing of patriotic songs by Farhan, Sharifah Zarina and Ray, the winner of Bintang RTM 2007.
Besides uniting the Malays in their struggle against the formation of the Malayan Union, Onn Jaafar also played a major role in efforts to gain independence for Malaya.
He had also been an Umno president and had proposed that Umno accepted all races as members and according citizenship to the other races.
However, his proposals were rejected and he subsequently resigned as Umno president in 1951 and later formed Parti Kemerdekaan Malaya before forming Parti Negara in 1954.
He failed in his bid for the Federation of Malaya election in 1955 to become the first prime minister of the Federation of Malaya and died in 1962 at the age of 67.
Source: www.bernama.com (4 September 2007)