Ungku Aziz.

 Tues Dec 15, 2020.

I saw the sad news of Ungku Aziz's passing on my whatsapp just now. Several of them were from the "FMC form 5 1962" group. Padir also sent one. Ungku Aziz was 98.  Older than Mahathir.

In 1965 when I enrolled into UM, I attended one economics class when he spoke to us freshies. He said "many of you would not do well in the university, because you don't work hard enough, or you are not good enough !".I'd heard him on the radio many times before that. It was the same style. Simple, straight forward. He looked "English", but sounded very Malay.

I saw several photographs in the papers, of him and the other personalities  involved in the Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka nascent activities back in the 60's. I think they predated Syed Nasir's helm.

Other than his Vice Chancellor duties, you remember also those cooperatives days and "Angkasa" and all the politicking that embroiled him but not of his design. Surely they owe the man something for the general development of the national  cooperatives  movement.

Economics was one of the 3 papers I did in my first year. The other 2 were history and geography. Many undergraduates I spoke with then said I was foolish to take together these 3 "tough" subjects in my first year. Many would take one of these 3, and then 2 "lighter" ones like Malay studies, or Islamic studies. But one time I hitched a ride in a senior's car and they asked me about my subjects. When I mentioned them, one female senior in the car said "good for you".

Ungku Aziz used to jog around the large campus grounds, when jogging wasn't fashionable yet. Even very late in life he continued with this exercise. I'd never heard of a sick Ungku Aziz.

I remember that thin economics book he wrote on rural economy. I remember the radio interview when he mentioned his stay in a fishing village in Terengganu when writing that book. A fisherman's wife asked him how many children he had. When he said just one daughter (Zeti), the woman said rich people are never fertile, or something like that.

Zeti joined UM the same year I did. She must be my age. But I retired  20 years ago, while ex-Bank Negara Zeti is now heading  PNB. I remember we couldn't tackle her at university. She already had a Chinese boy friend. He became her husband.  I remember I thought she stooped a bit, always in a dress.  I don't see that later when she appeared often in the news, always in a baju kurung Johor, like her late mother.

Ungku Aziz also wrote a lot on the common practice among the Malays of making savings from hard-earned income for the purpose of doing the haj. Eventually, his recommendation to the government brought about the creation of the Tabung Haji. Every haji since the start of TH enjoyed the comfort of their holy journey because of TH, created by Ungku Aziz.  Surely the blessings pile on his soul now.

One practice I did when working, and my brother also did this, was to emulate Ungku Aziz, and put a large clock on my table in the office, facing the guest. As Ungku Aziz said, this was a psychological trick of reminding the visitor that time is precious, and everyone is looking at time, and hopefully the visitor does not stay any longer than necessary. It worked in my case.

I don't know of the Federal or state honours bestowed upon Ungku Aziz. None is too great to be given to this man. In his life time he said not to ask him about his religious practice. In his death we shouldn't restrain our prayers for his soul. Amin.

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Perak: tarnished silver.

 Wed Dec 9, 2020.

Like the Federal government, the state legislature of Perak has no dominant party holding the sway of power. The difference is that in Perak they have balls. They called for the vote of confidence and the MB got 10, to the no-confidence group with 49 in the 59-seat house. So he had to go. Muhyiddin has consistently got 108 in the 222-seat Parliament. The old Speaker was removed. But there has not been a no-confidence vote  yet.

UMNO talks big now. But they are not that big in the Dewan. They have 25 seats, DAP 16, Amanah and Bersatu 5 each, PKR and PAS 3 each, Gerakan and Independent 1 each. DAP, PKR and Amanah, the remenants of the old PH,  have 24 seats. So, both UMNO and the remenants of the old PH need the remaining 5 seats held by PAS, Gerakan and the Independent.

That's a stalemate to me.

But greed and short-term gains could move PAS and the Independent chap to throw in with the better offer that most likely will come from UMNO. They are used to doing it.

PAS is Islamic in name only. Many dastardly acts have been committed by PAS leaders that cannot be further from Islamic. But 28 seats are insufficient. A minimum 30 are required for a simple majority. The picture is still murky. That's why the Sultan wanted to see the numbers personally.

The biggest loser is Muhyiddin. The MB is a Deputy President of Bersatu. UMNO as the instigator in Perak showed no qualms in kicking the ass of the Bersatu "strong man", even though they owe their illegitimate position in the Federal Government to Muhyiddin. They are spitting in his face. And so far Muhyiddin has said nothing. But then, Muhyiddin has nothing to say since becoming the backdoor PM except "kesini, kesana, kesini, kesana" when talking about the Covid 19 s.o.p. All too soon, Muhyiddin might become neither "sini" nor "sana".

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Harun Awal 1945-2020.

 Mon 7 Dec 2020.

Harun passed away at the HTJ Seremban Saturday night. He had a stroke about a week ago. Khamis sms'd his ward number (5A) but regretfully Hank advised we should obey the s.o.p. with the continuing Covid 19 cases especially here in Seremban, and hold our visit for the time being. Khamis had also mentioned that his elder brother had regained consciousness, though still in intensive care, which was one more reason to not disturb Harun yet. Alas, we misssed the visit.

Harun was one year my junior in age and in Royal Military College. I remember him as the cross-country champion at College. So when we met again in Seremban many, many years later, I was surprised to see a rather portly Harun who didn't look at all like a cross-country champion. But meeting Khamis later, I saw the gene's similiarity.

Like Khamis, Harun was also an avid golfer. Having played with both  brothers over the years, Khamis is probably a slightly better player. But Harun was no mean player himself. He had a power-fade drive which he used deliberately. The late Dr. Yokan was a famous victim in SIGC. When SIGC was closed for several months because of the tussle between the State government and the club, Harun and Dr. Yokan played all their golf at Staffield or Nilai ( can't remember which one, maybe both) and according to Harun he cleaned the doctor up. I believed him.

The last time we met was maybe one year  ago, when Khamis visited his brother, and called me to join them for tea at a Paroi Jaya restaurant. Harun looked ok then. He was always in well-pressed clothes everytime we met, if he wasn't in his golf garb. Even when playing golf, he always dressed well, and even had his money (for betting) neatly folded in his wallet. I knew because he showed me. "Yokan's money" he grinned.

I'd met Harun at the club some time before that and asked when he was coming back to play. At that time we all knew he had not come to the club for a long time. "I'll come back soon" he said. He never did.

Harun was with the government before he resigned and joined  the private sector. I don't think it all ended well for him, but let's not cast any negativity here. Let's give due respect to the memory of an old friend.

Khamis is a lot like Harun. Seeing Khamis will remind me of Harun. My prayers for Harun Awal. Amin.

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