Razak-sensei, from the ashes of Hiroshima
Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
Learning Curve: Perspective
New Sunday Times - 24-02-2013
TOMORROW will be another memorable day for Razak-sensei, as Datuk Abdul Razak Abdul Hamid, 87, is fondly known to his Japanese students and friends. An honorary doctorate will be conferred on Abdul Razak by his alma mater, then called Hiroshima Bunn University (now called University of Hiroshima), in Japan.
He is among two other individuals who are given the honour -- one is Brunei's former Prime Minister Pengiran Yusuf, 91, and former Parliamentarian of the Republic of Indonesia, Hasan Rahaya, also 91.
All three have one thing in common -- they are their respective country's sole survivor of the atomic bomb dropped by United States bombers of the Allied Forces during World War 2 in August 1945 in Japan.
Abdul Razak was then attending lecture at the university which was located 1.5km from the epicentre of the first atomic bomb explosion. He was forced to abandon his studies following the horrific devastation in the wake of the bomb attack.
The honorary doctorate complements, in many ways, the 1995 Japan Foundation Special Prize bestowed on him at a ceremony in Tokyo, and the rare honour of an audience with the Emperor and Empress of Japan at the event.
He received the award for his outstanding contributions towards promoting the Japanese language and creating mutual understanding between the citizens of Japan and Malaysia.
This he best demonstrated when he was asked by the then Prime Minister Datuk Seri (now Tun) Dr Mahathir Mohamad to head the Look East Policy in 1982.
Due to his in-depth knowledge of and passion for the Japanese language, Abdul Razak was given the task of coordinating the programme at the Centre of Preparatory Education in the then Institute Teknologi MARA.
Apart from his administrative duties, he also conducted intensive classes in Japanese language and culture for participants going to Japan for training and study tours. Thousands benefited from the courses under his tutelage and stewardship.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak acknowledged the success of the initiative, which spanned 30 years, and pledged to continue to strengthen collaborations between Malaysia and Japan.
This was echoed by former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda who said: "The relationship between Japan and Malaysia has been underpinned by the strong bond formed by layers of activities including the human exchange based on the Look East Policy."
In this sense, the recognition by the University of Hiroshima cannot come at a better time given the 30th anniversary of the Look East Policy.
Although Abdul Razak spent only seven months in Hiroshima, it was enough to ignite his love of the language and culture that eventually blossomed into deeper ties with Japan.
He continued learning the language despite criticism from others due to the Japanese Occupation of Malaya. Then, few saw the benefit of picking up language, but Abdul Razak remembered well the words of the Japanese who vowed Japan would reemerge two decades in the aftermath of the atomic bomb.
On his humble service, Abdul Razak was quoted as saying: "I find great joy in teaching. It is satisfying to train people especially those who do not know Japanese. It usually takes students six months to get a feel of the subject. It is like planting and watching them grow."
At 18, Abdul Razak joined the then Hiroshima Bunn University under the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity programme to read education.
He was a promising student during the Japanese Occupation of Malaya, and was among the few who furthered their studies in Japan. He was part of the second group of elite Southeast Asian scholars, together with the late Tan Sri Eusoffe Abdoolcader, the well-known Supreme Court Judge and Malaysian legal icon.
Abdul Razak was reportedly recognised by the Japanese government as one of some 1,760 foreign nationals (almost all of them Koreans) who survived the atomic bombing.
In August 2009, Abdul Razak, then 84, gave a detailed experience of the tragic bombing in Bahasa Malaysia, which was recorded for YouTube (www.youtube.com/watch?v>bDZ_jgZi2mA) courtesy of Daniel Davis. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka published his experience in Debu Hiroshima by Othman Puteh. For a poem dedicated to Abdul Razak based on the book, go to http://lokanbertepuk.com/2008/09/23/teater-hiroshima/
- The writer is the vice-chancellor of the Albukhary International University