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Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Mari Kenal Pejuang Kemerdekaan: Ahmad Boestamam (1920-1983)

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Gambar dari blog Rustam Sani

Ahmad Boestamam adalah nama yang tak asing di Malaysia. Nama sebenar beliau ialah Abdullah Sani Raja Kechil. Nama beliau tak dapat lari daripada dikaitkan dengan gerakan kemerdekaan Tanah Melayu. Buku-buku sejarah yang digunakan di sekolah-sekolah di Malaysia tak begitu banyak menceritakan tentang Ahmad Boestamam. Seharusnya tokoh yang sebegini besar sumbangan dan pengorbanan terhadap usaha untuk memerdekan negara harus ada satu muzium atau tugu untuk memperingati beliau.

Tapi di Malaysia begitulah, oleh kerana UMNO dan Barisan Nasional mahu memonopoli sejarah kemerdekaan negara, pejuang-pejuang yang tak sehaluan dengan mereka dipinggirkan. Tambahan lagi dengan “momok” anti komunis yang berjaya mempengaruhi sebahagian besar rakyat Malaysia. Ini lebih memudahkan bagi mereka (baca: kerajaan Barisan Nasional) untuk menguasai sejarah kemerdekaan negara.

Tahun ini ialah ulang tahun ke 50 Malaya merdeka (Malaysia ditubuhkan pada 16 September 1963). Jadi rasanya eloklah sedikit sebanyak diperkenalkan kembali pejuang-pejuang awal yang membangunkan gerakan kemerdekaan di Tanah Melayu kepada generasi muda di Malaysia.

Kepada yang belum mengenali Ahmad Boestamam, sila klik disini atau dapatkan buku “Memoir Ahmad Boestamam: Merdeka Dengan Darah dalam API” disini.


Tun Abdul Razak


Yang Amat Berbahagia Tun
Tun Abdul Razak


In office
22 September 1970 – 14 January 1976
Monarch Abdul Halim
Yahya Petra
Deputy Ismail Abdul Rahman
Hussein Onn
Preceded by Abdul Rahman
Succeeded by Hussein Onn

In office
31 August 1957 – 22 September 1970
Prime Minister Abdul Rahman
Preceded by Office established
Succeeded by Ismail Abdul Rahman

Born 11 March 1922(1922-03-11)
Pekan, Pahang, British Malaya
Died 14 January 1976 (aged 53)
London, England, United Kingdom
Political party United Malays National Organisation-National Front
Spouse(s) Rahah Noah
Alma mater Malay College Kuala Kangsar
Raffles College
Occupation Lawyer
Religion Islam

Tun Abdul Razak bin Hussein Al-Haj (March 11, 1922-January 14, 1976) was the second Prime Minister of Malaysia, ruling from 1970 to 1976.

Tun Razak was the Prime Minister responsible in setting up Barisan Nasional, which is the ruling coalition of political parties that have held power in Malaysia till today, taking over from its predecessor, the Alliance. He is also renowned for launching the Malaysian New Economic Policy (MNEP).


Background

Born in Pulau Keladi, Pekan, Pahang on March 11, 1922, Tun Razak is the first of two children to Dato' Hussein bin Mohd Taib and Hajah Teh Fatimah bt Daud. Of aristocratic descent, Abdul Razak studied at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar.

After joining the Malay Administrative Service in 1939, he was awarded a scholarship to study at Raffles College in Singapore in 1940. His studies at the college ceased with the onset of the Second World War. During the war he helped organize the Wataniah resistance movement in Pahang.[1]

After World War II, Tun Razak left for Britain in 1947 to study law. In 1950 he received a law degree and qualified as barrister at Lincoln's Inn in London. During his student days in England, Tun Razak was a member of the British Labour Party and a prominent student leader of the Kesatuan Melayu Great Britain (Malay Association of Great Britain). He also formed the Malayan Forum, an organisation for Malayan students to discuss their country's political issues.

Political Involvement

Upon his return from the United Kingdom, Tun Razak joined the Malayan Civil Service. Owing to his political caliber, he became the youth chief for United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). Two years later, he worked as the Assistant State Secretary of Pahang and in February 1955, at just 33 years of age, became Pahang's Chief Minister.

Razak stood in and won a seat in Malaysia's first general elections in July 1955 and was appointed as the Education Minister. He was instrumental in the drafting of the Razak Report which formed the basis of the Malayan education system. Tun Razak was also a member of the February 1956 mission to London to seek the independence of Malaya from the British.

After the general elections in 1959, he became the Minister of Rural Development in addition to holding the portfolios of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence. His achievements include formulating the development policy known as the Red Book.

Prime Ministership

On September 1970, Tun Razak succeeded Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra as the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

After the May 13 Incident in 1969, his faction in UMNO overthrew Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra and imposed a State of Emergency, ruling by decree until 1970. On September 1970, Tun Razak succeeded Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra as the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Tun Razak set up the Barisan Nasional or National Front on January 1, 1973 to replace the ruling Alliance Party. He increased the membership of its parties and coalitions in an effort to establish "Ketahanan Nasional" (National Strength) through political stability.

Tun Razak is also renowned for launching the Malaysian New Economic Policy (MNEP) in 1971. He and the "second generation" of Malay politicians saw the need to tackle vigorously the economic and social disparities which fuelled racial antagonism. The MNEP set two basics goals - to reduce and eventually eradicate poverty, and to reduce and eventually eradicate identification of economic function with race.

Infusing Young Blood

At the time of Separation of Singapore from the Federation of Malaysia in 1965, Tun Razak realised that UMNO needed more young leaders in the party. Faced with, amongst other things Lee Kuan Yew’s considerable rhetorical skills, Razak wanted young Malay leaders – grounded in their own faith and culture – who would be able to speak and if necessary debate both in the Malay language and English language.

Razak understood that power resided in the Malay community and that for this power to be wielded effectively, the elite among the Malays had to be an elite determined by ability, aptitude and commitment to the nation as a whole. Class, birth and money were secondary in his calculations.

As a consequence of this initiative, the then young leaders of mixed heritage in UMNO, such as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (whose grandfather was an Indian immigrant), were drafted into higher echelons of the political establishment.

Death

Due in part to leukemia, Abdul Razak died on January 14, 1976 while seeking medical treatment in London. He was posthumously granted the soubriquet Bapa Pembangunan (Father of Development). He is laid to rest in Heroes Mausoleum near Masjid Negara, Kuala Lumpur.

Family

Tun Abdul Razak was descended from a long line of Pahang chieftains of Bugis descent.[2][3] He was married to Tun Rahah Mohammad Noah; daughter of Tan Sri Haji Mohamad Noah Omar, the former Minister of Home Affairs and first Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat. He was the brother in law of Tun Hussein Onn, his successor as Prime Minister, who also married another Tan Sri Haji Mohamad Noah Omar's daughter, Tun Suhaila Mohamad Noah.

Abdul Razak's eldest son, Najib Tun Razak, became the 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia on 3 April 2009, succeeding Abdullah Badawi. He has four other sons, Datuk Ahmad Johari Razak, Mohamed Nizam, Mohamed Nazim and Mohamed Nazir.

Awards and recognition

Awards

Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Tunku Abdul Rahman

Yang Teramat Mulia
Tunku Abdul Rahman Al-Haj
AC CH


In office
31 August 1957 – 22 September 1970
Monarch Abdul Rahman
Hisamuddin Alam Shah
Putra
Ismail Nasiruddin Shah
Deputy Abdul Razak
Preceded by Office established
Succeeded by Abdul Razak

Born 8 February 1903(1903-02-08)
Alor Star, Kedah, British Malaya
Died 6 December 1990 (aged 87)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Political party United Malays National Organisation-Alliance Party/National Front
Spouse(s) Meriam Chong (1933 – 1935)
Violet Coulson (1935 – 1946)
Sharifah Rodziah Syed Alwi Barakbah (1939 – 1990)
Occupation Lawyer
Religion Islam

Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah, AC, CH (February 8, 1903 – December 6, 1990) was known as "Tunku" (a princely title in Malaysia), (Jawi: تنكو عبد الرحمن ڤوترا الحج ابن المرحوم سلطان عبد الحميد حليم شاه) and also called Bapa Kemerdekaan (Father of Independence) or Bapa Malaysia (Father of Malaysia), was Chief Minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955, and the country's first Prime Minister from independence in 1957. He remained as the Prime Minister after Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore joined the federation in 1963 to form Malaysia.


Early life

Abdul Rahman began his education in 1909 at a Malay Primary School, Jalan Baharu, in Alor Star and was later transferred to the Government English School, now the Sultan Abdul Hamid College, Alor Star, where he studied during the day and read the Qur'an in the afternoon.

Two years later in 1911, when he was eight, he was sent to study at Debsirin School in Bangkok along with his three brothers. In 1915, he returned and continued his studies at Penang Free School.

In 1918, Abdul Rahman was awarded a Kedah State Scholarship to further his studies at St Catharine's College in the University of Cambridge, where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1925. He was the first student from Kedah to study in the United Kingdom under the sponsorship of the Kedah State Government.

Early career

Upon his return home, Abdul Rahman worked in the Kedah public service and was appointed as District Officer of Kulim and Sungai Petani. In colonial Malaya, almost all the District Officers were British. Abdul Rahman who was the only Malay District Officer at that time had the people's interest at heart. This made him cross swords with the British Administration many times.

However, the British Administration in Kedah could not do anything as he was a prince and the son of the Sultan. However, him angering the colonial administration cost him many chances of promotion to higher offices.

Some time later, he returned to England to complete his law studies at the Inner Temple but was forced to stop in 1938. At the outbreak of World War II, he returned to Malaya.

During the Japanese Occupation of Kedah, the Tunku was responsible for saving many lives, both Malay and Chinese. He being of royal blood was highly revered by the Japanese and could not be touched by them, and he used this to his advantage. Many people from Kulim today lay claim to owing their lives to the Tunku.

He resumed his studies at the Inner Temple in 1947. And in 1949, he qualified for the Bar. During this period, Abdul Rahman met Abdul Razak Hussein (later known as Datuk and Tun). He was elected president of the Malay Society of Great Britain, and Abdul Razak, who was twenty-six, was his secretary.

Involvement in politics

After his return to Malaya in 1949, Abdul Rahman was first posted at the Legal Officer's office in Alor Star. He later asked to be transferred to Kuala Lumpur, where he became a Deputy Public Prosecutor. He was later appointed as president of the Sessions Court.

During this period, nationalism was running high among the Malays, with Datuk Onn Jaafar leading the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) in the struggle against Britain's Malayan Union (see History of Malaysia). Abdul Rahman joined UMNO and became active in Malayan nationalist politics. He was popular and later became head of the Kedah branch of UMNO.

In August 1951 an internal crisis in UMNO forced Datuk Onn Jaafar to resign as party president. Abdul Rahman was elected as the new president, eventually holding the post for 20 years.

Road to independence

In 1954, Abdul Rahman led a delegation to London to seek independence for Malaya, but the trip proved to be unfruitful. The British were reluctant to grant independence, using the excuse that there needed to be evidence that the different races in Malaya were able to work together and cooperate before independence could be obtained.

Race relations was the cause of Onn Jaafar stepping down. He wanted UMNO to be open to the Chinese and Indians but UMNO members were not ready to accept this. His successor, Abdul Rahman saw a way around this by forming a political alliance with the Malayan Chinese Association called the Alliance Party. The coalition proved to be popular among the people. The Alliance was later joined by the Malayan Indian Congress (MIC) in 1955, representing the Indian community.

In the same year, the first federal general election was held, and the Alliance Party (Perikatan) won fifty-one out of the fifty-two seats contested. Abdul Rahman was selected as Malaya's first Chief Minister.

Tunku Abdul Rahman proclaiming Malayan independence.

Later in 1955 Abdul Rahman made another trip to London to negotiate Malayan independence, and 31 August 1957 was decided as the date for independence. When the British flag was lowered in Kuala Lumpur on independence day, Abdul Rahman led the crowd in announcing "Merdeka!" (independence). Photographs of Abdul Rahman raising his hand, and recordings of his emotional but determined voice leading the cheers, have become familiar icons of Malaysian independence.

Premiership

Abdul Rahman dominated the politics of independent Malaya (which became Malaysia in 1963), and led the Alliance to landslide wins in the 1959, and 1964 general elections.

The formation of Malaysia was one of Abdul Rahman's greatest achievements. In 1961 he made a speech at the Foreign Correspondents Association of Southeast Asia in Singapore, proposing a federation Malaya, Singapore, Sabah, Sarawak, and Brunei. On 16 September 1963, with the federation of all these states except Brunei, Abdul Rahman was formally restyled Prime Minister of Malaysia.

However, the racial factor was worsened with the inclusion of Singapore, which increased the Chinese proportion to more than 40%. Both UMNO and the MCA were nervous about the possible appeal of Lee Kuan Yew's People's Action Party (PAP, then seen as a radical socialist party) to voters in Malaya, and tried to organise a party in Singapore to challenge Lee's position there. Lee in turn threatened to run PAP candidates in Malaya at the 1964 federal elections, despite an earlier agreement that he would not do so (see PAP-UMNO relations). This provoked Abdul Rahman to demand that Singapore withdraw from Malaysia.

On 7 August 1965, Abdul Rahman announced to the Parliament of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur that it should vote yes on the resolution to have Singapore leave the Federation, choosing to "sever all ties with a State Government that showed no measure of loyalty to its Central Government" as opposed to the undesirable method of repressing the PAP for its actions. Singapore's secession and independence became official on 9 August 1965.

At the 1969 general election, the Alliance's majority was greatly reduced. Demonstrations following the elections sparked the May 13 racial riots in Kuala Lumpur. Some UMNO leaders led by Tun Abdul Razak were critical of Abdul Rahman's leadership during these events, and an emergency committee MAGERAN took power and declared a state of emergency.

Abdul Rahman's powers as Prime Minister were severely curtailed, and on 22 September 1970, he was forced to resign as Prime Minister in favour of Abdul Razak. He subsequently resigned as UMNO President in June 1971, in the midst of severe opposition of the 'Young Turks' comprising party rebels such as Mahathir Mohammad and Musa Hitam. The duo later became Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia respectively.

Involvements in Islam

After making Islam the official religion in 1960, Abdul Rahman established the Islamic Welfare Organisation (PERKIM), an organisation to help Muslim converts adjust to new lives as Muslims. He was President of PERKIM until a year before his death. In 1961 Malaysia hosted the first International Qur'an Recital Competition, an event that developed from Abdul Rahman's idea when he organised the first state-level competition in Kedah in 1951.

Abdul Rahman upheld the independence social contract of a secular Malaysia with Islam as its official religion. On the occasion of his 80th birthday, Abdul Rahman stated in the The Star newspaper of 9 February 1983 that the "country has a multi-racial population with various beliefs. Malaysia must continue as a secular State with Islam as the official religion." In the same issue of The Star, Abdul Rahman was supported by the third Malaysian Prime Minister, Hussein Onn, who stated that the "nation can still be functional as a secular state with Islam as the official religion."[1]

Sports Involvement

An avid sportsman, Tunku Abdul Rahman was a firm believer that sports was a good catalyst to bring about greater social unity among Malaysians of various races and religions. Therefore he supported or started many sports events.

Tunku initiated an international football tournament, the Pestabola Merdeka (Independence Football Festival) in 1957. The following year, he was elected as the first president of Asian Football Confederation (AFC), a post he held until 1976.

Tunku also loved horse racing and was a regular at the Selangor Turf Club. He claims his lucky number is 13. He would win horse races that were held on the 13th of the month. Winning was a sure thing on Friday the 13th for him, he claimed.

Later life

In 1977, having acquired substantial shares in The Star, a Penang-based newspaper, Abdul Rahman became the newspaper's Chairman. His columns, "Looking Back" and "As I See It", were critical of the government, and in 1987 Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad banned the newspaper. This led to a split in UMNO, with Abdul Rahman and another former Prime Minister, Tun Hussein Onn, setting up a new party called UMNO Malaysia, but its registration was quashed by Mahathir Mohamad, who set up his own UMNO Baru ("New UMNO"). Abdul Rahman later supported Semangat 46, a splinter group of UMNO led by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. He campaigned actively for the latter in the General election of 1990, but was already in very poor health. The well-educated, visionary Tunku clashes with Mahathir's brand nationalism that was meant to help the economically and socially stunted Malays of Malaysia (due to the effect of colonial British 'divide and rule' system).

Death

Tunku Abdul Rahman died on 6 December 1990 at the age of eighty-seven, and was laid to rest at the Langgar Royal Mausoleum in Alor Star.

Family

Abdul Rahman married at least four times. By his first wife, a Thai Chinese woman named Meriam Chong, he had Tunku Khadijah and Tunku Ahmad Nerang. On Meriam's death, he married his former landlady in England, Violet Coulson. He was ordered to divorce her by the Regent of Kedah.

He then married Sharifah Rodziah Syed Alwi Barakbah, with whom he adopted four children, Sulaiman, Mariam, Sharifah Hanizah (granddaughter) and Faridah.

Wanting to have more children of his own, he secretly married another Chinese lady named Bibi Chong who converted upon marriage. He had two daughters with her, Tunku Noor Hayati and Tunku Mastura.[citation needed]

Awards and recognition

  • Tunku Abdul Rahman Stamp Issues: In 1991, he adorned part of the collection of Past Prime Ministers of Malaysia stamps issue. In 2003, stamps of Tunku Abdul Rahman were issued to commemorate his 100th birthday anniversary and to pay tribute to him as he was the first prime minister of Malaysia since Malaysia became an independent nation in 1957.