Kuala Lumpur - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi hailed Umno`s founder, the late Datuk Onn Jaafar as an "outstanding hero of the Malays" for his leadership in laying the groundwork for Malay nationalism.
Abdullah, who is also Umno president, said that Onn was a great Malay leader as he succeeded in uniting the Malays against the formation of the Malayan Union by the British colonists after the Japanese surrender in World War II (the British had wanted to end indirect rule in the Malay states and form a federation under a Governor with executive powers).
"During his lifetime, he not only displayed selfless service for the people but also emerged as a hero of the Malays," he said after launching the book "Onn Jaafar Pejuang Terbilang Pengasas Sebuah Negara Bangsa" (Onn Jaafar a Malay Hero and Founder of a Nation) here today.
Also present were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman.
Abdullah hoped that leaders who emerged in future would have similar traits as Onn.
Earlier, when speaking at the function, Abdul Ghani said that Onn ought to be remembered not because he was a Johor-born leader (he was born in Johor Baharu in 1895) or for founding Umno but because he was a leader who fought for the interests of the Malays, the rights of the Malay rulers and Islam as well as the economic and educational advancement of the race.
"Datuk Onn was a thinker, a social critic and a reformist who laid the groundwork for a strong nation. His courage and firmness led the Malays to become united and form a national Malay party, which is Umno," he said.
He added that the publishing of the book on the Umno founder was done in conjunction with the programme to pay tribute to him for his contributions to the Malay cause.
Under the programme, a national seminar on the Umno leader was held in Johor Baharu last year while a Datuk Onn gallery was established in Batu Pahat, in a house where Onn lived when he was its district officer in 1946.
The book, which was authored by Fadzil Abdullah, Kassim Thukiman and Mohd Zin Idros, is published by MPH Distributors Sdn Bhd in colloboration with YWJ Citra Holdings Sdn Bhd, Yayasan Warisan Johor and the Johor Umno Liasion Committee. It retails at RM120 a copy.
Source: www.bernama.com.my (9 November 2007)
