KUALA LUMPUR, August 3 (Bernama) -- Although the late Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman was known as a true Malay patriot, the former deputy prime minister was never a racist, said the Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah.
He said Tun Dr Ismail also never condoned discriminatory practices on the grounds of race and instead always reminded that Malaysia was not a regimented society.
‘He repeatedly stressed that Malaysia was a multi-racial country with each race having its own culture and traditions and the importance of having leaders who would forge a Malaysia that had unity in diversity,‘ he said in a voice choked with emotion when launching the book ‘Bukan Kerana Pangkat: Tun Dr Ismail Dan Masanya‘ at Universiti Malaya here today.
The book is a Malay translation of Tun Dr Ismail‘s biography ‘The Reluctant Politican-Tun Dr Ismail and His Time‘ from English. The biography was authored by Dr Ooi Kee Beng, the programme coordinator of Malaysian Studies at the Institute of South-East Asian Studies (ISEAS) in Singapore.
The book is based on the personal letters of Tun Dr Ismail and an unfinished memoir by him titled ‘Drifting Into Politics‘, which is now in the possession of his eldest son, Tawfik, 56.
Raja Nazrin said that Tun Dr Ismail and his contemporaries, who formed the first wave of leadership for a newly-independent Malaysia, also demonstrated unquestionable integrity.
‘They displayed loyalty to their cause, the principles they held dear, and to the people and nation,‘ he said.
He said that although at the time, the country did not even have a single university or many intellectuals, it was blessed with the finest leaders.
‘What was lacking in terms of a big pool of intellectuals, was made up for by their rich integrity and sense of loyalty,‘ said Raja Nazrin.
He said that although the first wave of leaders were mostly from elite groups, mainly the aristocracy or upper class, they never lost the common touch and empathised with the suffering of the poor and the problems faced by ordinary people like farmers and labourers.
They took it as their responsibility to champion for the masses, and it was this spirit that enabled Malaysia to become a stable nation that is strong economically and politically, he said.
‘Now after 50 years of independence, this spirit of caring for the masses should not wane among those in positions of power,‘ he said, adding that Malaysians who were poor and in the lower income groups still needed help to lead better lives.
He said leaders must not betray the trust the people placed in them by becoming greedy and amassing riches for themselves and their families.
‘Leaders are like the trunk and branches of a tree and the people the roots, which ultimately determine how well the tree grows.
‘Lead by example with sincerity, sacrifice and integrity just as Tun Dr. Ismail and his contemporaries did post-Merdeka (independence),‘ he said.
Source: www.bernama.com (6 Agustus 2007)