Learning from our fathers

Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
My View - The Sun Daily
August 12, 2015

THE family was upbeat last week. On the day of the 70th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, a book entitled Razak Sensei – Pemangkin Jalinan Malaysia-Jepun (The catalyst of Malaysia-Japan Linkages) was launched by the governor of Penang. Sensei is Japanese for cikgu or teacher who in this case refers to my late father, Abdul Razak Abdul Hamid. He was the sole Malaysian to survive the atomic bomb tragedy despite being just 1.5km from the epicentre when the bomb was detonated some 600m above the city. He witnessed the horrible impact caused by the high-pressure shockwave.

The book written by three literary academics from Universiti Teknikal Malaysia, and published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, is a compilation of first-hand information from 13 personalities who knew the sensei well as friends, colleagues, students or workmates. They include Penang Governor Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas; Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Malaysia's fifth prime minister; Japanese ambassador to Malaysia, Makio Miyagawa and Royal Professor Ungku Aziz. The book reveals the life and thinking of Razak sensei some of which was "new" even to family members.

More revealing still was what came out of an hour-long panel discussion titled "Pemikiran Cikgu Razak". Two of the three panellists who had been associated with the sensei for a long time in several roles gave illuminating testimonies. As a family, we were humbled to find out that our late father was much more than just the head of the household of five. We were proud to discover that the many principles he advocated at home were equally held in high regard in public and work places. The discussion brought to life the principles he held dear. Foremost is the principle of being humble without lowering one's dignity (merendah diri tanpa merendahkan harga diri). This opens up a multitude of vistas and opportunities to learn from others regardless of position and situation. Razak sensei ably demonstrated this when he enriched the Malaysia and Japan connectivity through the fields of education and culture, increasingly so as the head of the Look East Policy for almost two decades. It was during this period that the two nations came even closer based on people-to-people exchanges and networking as well laid out in several "friendship" programmes.

This leads to the principle of being honest, sincere as well as trustworthy to oneself making humility a second nature to a way of life that is highly dignified though simple and modest. There is no place for dishonesty, greed and lies which thrive on hypocrisy, taking an enormous toll on self-respect and well-being. Though these may be well masked (by hypocrites) it will invariably be exposed when it comes to the crunch. As a teacher, Razak sensei was mindful of this and walked the talk in no uncertain terms. To quote Pak Lah, he was an exemplary teacher.

Given this, at times we felt that our father was somewhat a "stranger" when some superlatives were bestowed upon him. Not that he did not deserve them, but rather he cared little, if any, for such "commendations". This is in line with another of his principles – that of carrying out what you have been mandated to do without fear or favour. More importantly, without expecting any returns in whatever form. Taking this principle to heart will free one from any kind of undue obligations and pressures to deviate from what is morally right; instead to remain steadfast to ethical values nurtured on high moral practices and integrity come what may.

In short, such words of wisdom ensure that we continue to live with self-respect and dignity throughout not just our individual lives, but collectively as leaders of the family. This applies to leaders at all levels, including that of families of nations. In so doing, it goes beyond the personal father figure, rather it embraces the national founding fathers who have been through thick and thin to realise and uplift the dignity of every citizen in the country. These are imperatives that must be realised as we reaffirm yet again our place among other sovereign nations where dignity and self-respect crafted on honesty, sincerity and trustworthiness take precedent as an essential part of success. This is one lesson that Razak-sensei would not have failed to advocate.