Legacy of Honour: Dato’ Jaafar, Dato’ Onn and Tun Hussein were leaders with extraordinary leadership values and dynamism

Teks Ucapan Dato' Seri Hishammuddin ketika melancarkan Buku “Legacy of Honour

1. Alhamdulillah, saya merafak rasa penuh kesyukuran ke hadrat Allah S.W.T kerana telah mengurniakan limpahan nikmat kesihatan dan kelapangan masa untuk kita semua hadir dalam suatu majlis yang penuh dengan nilai dan makna pada hari ini. Jujur saya katakan, dijemput berucap dalam majlis ini, adalah satu kelainan yang amat luar biasa bagi saya. Sesungguhnya sangat sukar untuk digambarkan perasaan saya dengan kata-kata; rasa teruja, rasa gembira, rasa bangga, tetapi pada masa yang sama, timbul juga rasa terharu, rasa rindu serta rasa sedih dan sayu.

2. Hakikatnya, bukan menjadi tugas mudah untuk berucap dihadapan sekalian yang hadir bagi menyempurnakan majlis pelancaran ini. Pelancaran sebuah buku yang merupakan tawarikh panjang perjuangan tokoh-tokoh yang cukup istimewa; ditambah pula darah negarawan dan tokoh terbilang yang dimaksudkan itu, masih segar mengalir bersama setiap denyutan nadi saya serta semua waris mereka yang ada bersama dalam dewan ini. Darah yang menuntut untuk segala amanah dan perjuangan mereka diteruskan; tanpa henti, tanpa nokhtahnya demi menjaga maruah Negara serta memartabat survival sebuah bangsa.

3. Sebelum saya meneruskan ucapan ini, izinkan saya mengajak sekalian yang hadir untuk membaca Ummul Kitab sebagai sedekah khusus kepada Allahyarham Dato’ Jaafar Mohamed, Allahyarham Dato’ Onn Jaafar, Allahyarham Tun Hussein Onn seisi keluarga serta saudara mara mereka yang telah kembali ke rahmatullah. Semoga roh Almarhum sentiasa dicucuri rahmat serta ditempatkan di sisi mereka yang beriman. Al-Fatihah.

Sidang hadirin sekalian,

Kepelbagaian Pemimpin

4. Sesungguhnya, tiada frasa tepat untuk saya simpulkan bagi menzahirkan apa yang terkandung dalam buku ini. Ia bukan sekadar buku sejarah ataupun biografi tokoh penting, tetapi bagi saya “Legacy of Honour” adalah “Warisan Sebuah Perjuangan”. Sebuah karya yang amat istimewa malah cukup bermakna buat kita semua. Ramai mungkin bergelar pemimpin atau kita semua sememangnya pemimpin tetapi tidak ramai boleh digelar tokoh apatah lagi dikenang sebagai negarawan. Pemimpin yang amanah ialah seorang insan yang memimpin dan bukan orang yang menggunakan kedudukannya untuk memimpin. Rasullah S.A.W. bersabda yang bermaksud :

“setiap daripada kamu adalah ketua dan kamu bertanggungjawab terhadap amanah kamu itu”.

Manakala dalam adat Melayu pula menekankan betapa pentingnya pengaruh dan peranan pemimpin dalam menentukan untung nasib keluarga, bangsa dan negara. Tetapi, seperti yang dizahirkan oleh tokoh pemikir Melayu, Tenas Effendy yang menggubah ungkapan-ungkapan adat dengan mengupas kepelbagaian bentuk dan jenis-jenis pemimpin. Kata beliau:

Yang disebut pemimpin banyak ragamnya

Ada kecil ada besarnya

Ada rendah ada tingginya

Yang rumah ada tuannya

Yang kampung ada pucuknya

Yang negeri ada rajanya

Bagaikan ayam ada induknya

Bagaikan serai ada rumpunnya.

Ada Pemimpin Waris, ada Pemimpin Bijaksana, ada Pemimpin Wasiat dan ada pula yang disifatkan Pemimpin Hantu, Pemimpin Bingal, Pemimpin Bingok serta Pemimpin Haram. Begitu banyak jenis pemimpin tetapi yang kekal dikenang adalah pemimpin yang amanah, jujur dan ikhlas dalam perjuangan demi agama, bangsa dan negaranya. Ditolak ketepi kepentingan diri dan ganjaran peribadi.

Pemimpin Waris

5. Pada hemat saya, hubungan darah yang wujud di antara ketiga-tiga tokoh penting dalam buku ini bukanlah satu kebetulan, tetapi ketentuan Allah Maha Pencipta. Takdir yang meletakkan mereka sebagai pemimpin penting, juga merupakan ketentuan Ilahi. Itulah Pemimpin Waris, dalam ungkapan adat, yang antara lain disebut sebagai:

Ia memimpin menurut waris

Baik tersirat maupun tertulis

Duduknya kukuh di dalam majlis

Membela rakyat tahan berhabis

Berkata benar bermulut manis

Dijadikan pemimpin tuah tak habis

Dijadikan tua mengikut garis

Dijadikan induk sudah ditapis

Memimpin keluarga atau negeri tentu terpuji

Memimpin umat tentu selamat

6. Bagi saya, ungkapan adat ini bukan sahaja cukup indah, malah cukup tepat untuk menggambarkan sejarah kepimpinan tiga generasi ayah, anak dan cucu ini. Sesungguhnya, mereka adalah Pemimpin Waris, tetapi mereka juga adalah waris-waris yang telah melalui pahit getir perjuangan serta telah diuji kekuatan kepimpinannya, sehingga terpancar semangat juang mereka, terbukti kesetiaan dan terpahat kukuh kecintaannya kepada agama, bangsa dan negara. Segala yang tertulis di dalam buku ini adalah hakikat; termaktub jelas, “Warisan Sebuah Perjuangan”.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

7. I speak for everyone in the family, (that is all descendants of the late Dato’ Jaafar, Dato’ Onn and Tun Hussein), which spans multiple generations, when I say that we are all extremely pleased with the way in which the book, ‘Legacy of Honour’ does justice to the incredible lives of Dato’ Jaafar Muhammad, Dato’ Onn Jaafar and Tun Hussein Onn. Also on behalf of the family, I thank and congratulate Zainah Anwar, the Noah Foundation and everyone involved in its research, writing and publications.

8. This book is not merely about our family. These men are great because of their achievements. The book is indeed, a testament of human hope and endeavour to achieve ambitions for the betterment of society, however lofty they may be. It is about leaders and leadership, how great leaders will always transcend their period of time.

9. ‘Legacy of Honour’ is more than just about these three men. It is a take on history – a history of a country and a land at a time when colonialism either existed or its legacy was still vividly fresh. Different as the settings may now be, these points in history are crucial in charting the way forward for Malaysia. They provide important lessons on diplomacy and how to deal with competing pressures in politics and governance. At a time when the only constant is change and the dominant political discourse around the world increasingly centres on paranoia and mistrust, stories like those within the pages of this book remind us to be more optimistic in our political journey and to once more be confident in charting out a bold, even unconventional navigational course through these uncharted waters.

Pemimpin Bijaksana Melangkaui Zaman

10. I believe, it is the challenge to some conventions and everyday truths that defined the leadership and lives of service of Dato’ Jaafar, Dato’ Onn and Tun Hussein. These men were instrumental figures in immense transformative periods in the land we now call Malaysia. They did not achieve what they did by sitting idly. No; these men were leaders; leaders who took risks to effect the desired change no matter how great the challenge, no matter how unlikely the eventual outcome may have seemed at the time.

Sidang hadirin sekalian,

11. Sebagai perlambangan perwatakan ketiga-tiga negarawan yang mempunyai ciri-ciri kepimpinan terbilang melangkaui zaman, tidak keterlaluan untuk saya meminjam kata-kata Tenas Effendy untuk mengambarkan Allahyarham Dato’ Jaafar, Dato’ Onn dan Tun Hussein sebagai Pemimpin Bijaksana, dengan katanya:

Bijaknya berkayuh menongkah arus

Bijak menarik rambut di tepung

Bijak menangkis bersilat lidah

Bijak marah dalam ketawa

Bijak senyum dalam susah

Bijak mengukur sama panjang

Bijak menimbang sama berat

Bijak memberi kata putus

Bijak melangkah dalam onak

Bijak menepis tuntung keris

Dato’ Jaafar Mohamed

12. And let us be clear, the challenges were great and the scale of change these men oversaw was equally monumental. To realize their dreams for the people, they had to defy the odds and occasionally defy tradition. Dato’ Jaafar played an instrumental role in making sure that Johor developed into a model modern Malay state without direct intervention from the British. History documents how difficult and unlikely this must have appeared. Where other states and territories around the immediate region, indeed around much of the world, were falling into the hands of Western imperial powers, Johor flourished independently as a Malay state under an indigenous Malay sovereign. This was no mean feat and was made possible only by Sultan Abu Bakar’s great wisdom and the counsel of Dato’ Jaafar.

13. The colonialist Frank Swettenham wrote of Malaya in 1895, that the irresistible “juggernaut of progress” was to penetrate their lands, ‘civilise’ their people, and stamp them with “the seal of a higher morality”. Well, looking back more than 100 years now, we can confidently say that at the turn of the century, Johor was well on its way towards achieving all of those things without Frank Swettenham and his imperial might. There can be no better affirmation of Dato’ Jaafar’s illustrious legacy than that.

Dato’ Onn Jaafar

14. Dato’ Onn’s task was no easier and neither was he one to shy away from tough, bold positions. His was the principal voice of Independence when few else believed it was desirable, much less necessary. Even Malays were hesitant about going after British rule. But Dato’ Onn proved to be a man of immense courage, vision and charisma to rally a united front, persuading the large masses to demand self-rule and self-determination for a country that had been under the colonial thumb for more than 400 years. The people of his generation knew of no other way and it is under such circumstances, that change is most difficult to instigate. But instigate he did and change happened because of men like him; our Independence was secured because of men like him.

15. And while Dato’ Onn could not lead the final charge all the way to London, it was his leadership and commitment to progressive change when it would have been easier to chime with the chorus, that kick started the march to inevitable Independence. In fact, his inability to run the final stretch was at least in part, down to his fierce commitment to national unity and multiracialism, questions we still grapple with today. But if nothing else, that painful episode in his life when he decided to leave a party he had founded, just as it was at the cusp of glory, proves beyond doubt the sincerity with which he served Malaya and her people.

Tun Hussein Onn

16. For Tun Hussein, upon Independence, the uncertainty of a newly independent state overwhelmed Malaysians. We know the dark chapters in our nation’s history, which need not be regurgitated here. It was naturally important that Malaysia had a leader who would not tolerate any measure of racial chauvinism at a time when the stench of memory remained fresh, nor was he one that would turn a blind eye on corruption when Malaysia was moving towards being a developed economy. In Tun Hussein, the third Prime Minister, my father, Malaysia found one.

17. It remains a great regret that not as much is known of his leadership compared to other past Prime Ministers of Malaysia. History has a peculiar way of, at times, reducing and simplifying intricacies to conjure an account for mass consumption. I suspect that is what happened in the case of my father, but this book redresses it in no uncertain terms. To quote YAB Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak in his foreword to this book:-

“The importance of this book lies in its comprehensive and critical treatment of the life and times of my uncle, Tun Hussein Onn. His contributions to the country and the values he stood for have been unfairly glossed over by many writers and commentators of Malaysian politics. What Zainah revealed is a man of steely resolve, whose abhorrence for corruption and abuse of power made him take unpopular decisions. He was a man who spoke his mind and showed openly his anger and disgust at political opportunities from all sides who exploit race and religion for short term political or monetary gain. He was a rare politician, a leader with the strength of his conviction and a leader so acutely aware of the corruption of power and the grave responsibility of leadership and public office”.

18. Yes, Tun Hussein was also a transformative leader who was at helm for a relatively brief period but whose tenure saw great changes in terms of government policy, especially on addressing economic imbalances between races. Tun Abdul Razak’s New Economic Policy was a grand framework with very noble intentions, and it was left to Tun Hussein to continue its vision by implementing various policies and setting up institutions to realize its goals.

19. Allahyarham Dato’ Jaafar, Dato’ Onn and Tun Hussein were leaders with extraordinary leadership values and dynamism. They are every Malaysian’s forefathers. It is not merely my family that look up to them; I believe this book will introduce a whole new generation towards appreciating the lives and ‘legacies of honour’ that characterize the history of the three men. And Malaysians of all ages and creeds are right to feel a sense of gratitude; our country is in debt to these great transformative leaders. Wherever we go from here, Malaysia’s development and progress in the future will always be anchored in the sacrifices and services of men like Dato’ Jaafar, Dato’ Onn and Tun Hussein. This book elucidates important lessons directly from the thinking and traits of towering figures. They were great visionaries of their time. Their wisdom surely transcends their time – and thus provide much benefit for us, even in the challenging times of today.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Private Lives

20. Of course, this sincerity in public life is only genuine when it stems from identical behaviour in private. Moreover, it is inconceivable that a holistic understanding of decisions made in the public sphere can be achieved without also studying at least part of the decision-makers’ private spheres. Legacy of Honour explores that section of the men’s lives in relative detail, revealing a more human dimension to these great leaders who also demonstrated a consistency in thought that cannot be divorced from the big decisions they made for the people they served.

21. Personally, I enjoyed these bits of the book most, especially since the subjects of the book also happen to be my father, grandfather and great grandfather. However, I am confident that all readers will also find them very educational insofar as it sheds light to the background, motivations and inspirations of these men that drove them to be illustrious leaders. This is one of the many great achievements of Legacy of Honour – unlocking the key to the psychological, emotional and intellectual backdrop is every bit as important as chronicling every great speech or policy decision.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Personal

22. I have always been proud to come from such a distinguished family, and I feel even more proud of that fact after reading Legacy of Honour. I remember growing up to many of the accounts and anecdotes in this book, but it is immensely gratifying to see them detailed in a structured and scholarly manner. And I, too, have learnt a thing or two about the three men owing to the rigorous research embarked upon to ensure the validity of the book’s contents.

23. While my family’s illustrious history will always remain a source of pride for me, it also means that I have great boots to fill. Neither do I wish to be presumptuous as in the end it is history that would judge each and every generation of leaders and politicians. It is, suffice for me to say for now that it is the men’s vision, commitment, incredible leadership abilities and most of all sincerity are the things that I look to live up to in both my private and public undertakings. Few others are as inspirational to me in life than Dato’ Jaafar, Dato’ Onn and Tun Hussein.

Sidang Hadirin Sekelian,

Pemimpin Hantu

24. Mencukupi sekiranya tuan-tuan dan puan-puan serta warga keluarga semua terus memandu serta doakan saya agar sentiasa mendapat perlindungan Allah S.W.T. untuk sentiasa berpijak pada paksi kebenaran dan dijauhkan pula hendaknya tergolong dalam pemimpin yang digelar Tenas Effendy sebagai “Pemimpin Hantu” yang diungkapkan adat sebagai:

Laku perangai bagaikan hantu

Dengan iblis ia bersekutu

Kerja menyalah akal tak tentu

Terhadap kebajikan ia berseteru

Terhadap maksiat ia menyatu

Loba dan tamak sudah bersatu

Makannya tidak memilih bulu

Minumnya tidak beraib malu

Duduk menengkis tegak meninju

Ke tengah ke tepi mengharu biru

Memimpin negeri kan jadi debu

Penutup

25. Before I end my speech, allow me to once again congratulate Zainah and her team for producing a great scholarly record that will be accessible to successive generations of Malaysians to learn about integrity, sacrifice and honour. The impact that will have on our children and grandchildren shall be the legacy of this book. Terima kasih tidak terhingga, semoga hasil usaha ini akan dilimpahi rahmat dan berkat dari Allah S.W.T serta meninggalkan kesan kepada pembaca terhadap “Warisan Sebuah Perjuangan”.

26. Tiga rangkap pantun sebagai bekal pulang buat semua sebagai tanda penghargaan saya pada sekelian yang hadir menyokong usaha murni ini;

Baju bercorak tiada beria

Pakaian anak Panglima Garang

Emas dan perak pengaruh dunia

Budi yang baik dijunjung orang

Ayam rintik di pinggir hutan

Nampak dari tepi telaga

Nama yang baik jadi ingatan

Seribu tahun terkenang juga

Berpohon berangan berbuah kundur

Daunnya tirus di tepi empangan

Menongkah arus tiada berundur

Menatang warisan sebuah perjuangan

Dengan lafaz Bismillahirrahmannirrahim, saya dengan penuh sukacita menyempurnakan pelancaran buku “Legacy of Honour” dengan jayanya.

Sekian, wassalam.